


Delayed

by green_lemonboys



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, F/F, F/M, M/M, Reunions, T. J. Kippen & Amber Are Siblings, actually all of them, and Amber, and they are all angsty people who are different from who they were, and tj, andi just needs a hug, confused feelings, everyone's lives are a mess, oh btw they are like 24-25 in this, so does cyrus, they meet again 6 years after high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-04-08 11:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_lemonboys/pseuds/green_lemonboys
Summary: "All felt like they knew the others were far away, living ideal lives. They kept to their windows and phones for the ride, thinking about the others. They reminisced separately but prayed for the night to go by fast, to get to the places they needed to go.But the night hadn’t even begun yet."High school ended 6 years ago, and with it, so did the friendship between Andi, Buffy, Cyrus, Jonah, TJ and Amber.But now their flight is delayed and they are stuck in a hotel together for the night. Not much can change in one night, though.Can it?





	1. All the Roads

**Author's Note:**

> So I got this idea like a while ago, and I'm finally writing it! This is another multi-chapter, so let's do this kids.

“This sucks,” Buffy groaned down to phone to Marty, who laughed pleasantly in amusement.

“It’s okay Buffy, just a flight delay. It’ll let up,” he said reassuringly.

“No, the flight got cancelled! I have to stay overnight in this hotel they are gonna put up all the people in some hotel,” Buffy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’ll only be able to reach by tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s okay, Buffy. I’m sure if you call up the company, they will be willing to understand.”

“I guess. It’s just so inconvenient.”

“True. But hey, maybe you’ll get some sleep at this hotel now!” Marty said, trying to get Buffy to lighten up. She appreciated his efforts, letting a small smile form on her face.

“I love you, Marty. The bus is gonna reach in some time,” Buffy said.

“I love you too, Buffy. Get some rest, okay?” Marty said before Buffy ended the call. She looked around her at the other passengers doomed to her fate. _Nothing better than being stuck in a situation with people you don’t know, and will never see again._ She sighed and opened her phone, checking her social media. Scrolling through a bit, she landed on a picture of her and Marty from back in high school.

High school. Basketball, milkshakes, the Good Hair Crew. Andi and Cyrus. God, it had been so long. High school friends drift apart, but never had they thought back then that it would happen to them. But happen it did. Buffy sighed, scrolling past the picture, pushing away the memories. Dwelling did no good. Buffy was positive that if her friends saw her today, they wouldn’t recognise the person she had become. And a part of her knew she wouldn’t recognise them either. Shutting off her phone, Buffy leaned against the seat, looking out the window as the announcement for the arrival of the bus rang through the air.

At least the night would pass by quick.

*

Andi huffed as she threw down her duffel bag and sank into the shitty airport seat as she waited for more information about the transport to the hotel. She hadn’t had any intention of spending her night there, but cancelled flights called for desperate measures. She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, unable to use her phone because it decided it was a good time to conk off. She rummaged through the meagre collection of magazines on the stand next to the seats, and settled for a travel magazine. She opened it and began to read from a random page, wanting only to pass the time. Beads of sweat were already forming on the back of her neck. Despite the air conditioning being on full. _Maybe a leather jacket was not the best choice._

Andi busied herself in reading about the ‘5 Restaurants You Have to Try in Prague’, turning the pages lazily, every movement betraying disinterest. At one point, she felt someone’s eyes on her. She turned around to see a guy around her age staring at her intently. With that look in his eyes. She knew that look. She had seen that look.

She despised that look.

“The fuck you looking at?” she asked, making a dismissing motion with her hand as she raised her eyebrows at the guy.  He just smirked at her.

“Can’t a guy just look?” he said in that voice that exuded faux innocence. It sounded like nails on chalkboards to Andi’s ears.

“Well then, can’t I just connect my fist to your nose?” she asked, smiling at him, her eyes fiery. That got him to look away grumbling, not before he whispered, “Bitch,” under his breath.

Andi rolled her eyes and looked back at the magazine, not before shooting looks at all the people who were staring at her after that incident. “What are you watching? Nothing to see here,” she said, moving her hands as if she were shooing them away.

She hadn’t always been like this, so snappy and angry. She had grown up a sweet, albeit dramatic girl. She had a weird but perfect life all the way till high school, with perfect friends and perfect relationships. But life is a bitch.

So you have to be a bitch to survive.

*

 **Cyrus:** sorry mom looks like itll be tomorrow when i get a flight

 **Mom:** oh dear okay cyrus. take care of yourself

 **Mom:** see you tomorrow :)

Cyrus sighed and put his phone in his pocket, cursing the building headache that was making its presence very much known. He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to quell the pain. It was then he really regretted not carrying aspiring with him. Ignoring his headache, he looked around observing all the people sitting there waiting for the bus to the hotel. Diagonally across from him was a girl with brown hair just above shoulder length in a leather jacket, sunglasses perched on her head. She was flipping through a travel magazine rather disinterestedly. She had just told off a guy for staring at her, earning some passing comments about her being ‘rude’, but Cyrus was with the girl on this one. Though he didn’t need to voice his support, she had the situation very much under her control.

For some reason, as he caught glimpses of her, Cyrus couldn’t shake the thought that _she looked incredibly familiar._ He had the feeling that he knew this girl from somewhere, from a distant point in his life. But he couldn’t place her.

He shook his head slightly. _It was probably just a passing similarity._ He opened his phone for a distraction, noticing an Instagram notification.

**cygoodman, see your post from 6 years ago today**

Curious, he clicked on the notification and it took him all the way back to senior year of high school, to baby taters and milkshakes. To the Good Hair Crew.

To TJ.

The picture wasn’t spectacular, it was just a slightly shaky selfie taken by Andi, with him, Buffy, Jonah, Marty, Amber. And TJ. Cyrus’ boyfriend. Well, ‘then’ boyfriend.

The picture made Cyrus’ breath catch in his throat, a wistful smile spreading across his face. It had been over 4 years since he had spoken to anyone in that picture. 5 years since he and TJ had practically broken up. 6 years since they left high school.

6 years since they hammered the last nail into the coffin of their childhood friendship.

High school and childhood friendships don’t always last, they all knew that. It came to no one’s surprise when the messages and video calls grew less frequent, they met up less and less. And soon enough, that was it. There was no great fight, no blowout. It just faded with time. Still, Cyrus couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia for his friends. And for TJ.

TJ Kippen waltzing into his life in middle school was the single most unexpected thing to have ever happened to Cyrus. He came in a cold jock, but it didn’t take Cyrus long to see through the cracks to see the soft side, the kind and caring side. With TJ, Cyrus felt like he could do anything, which was saying a lot. With TJ, nothing was impossible. TJ burned bright like the sun, and for some reason, he saw the moon in Cyrus. But of course, high school ends, and so do high school sweethearts. In the end, it wasn’t an explosion that ended them. It was radio silence. But a part of Cyrus missed him deeply. It was probably why he hadn’t been in a serious relationship since TJ, settling only for the casual and running at the first sign of more.

_Where could they all be? Probably further away than he could imagine._

*

“Okay I kinda wish now we didn’t meet up and decide to get this flight together,” TJ groaned as he started to gather his things from around the seat.

Amber scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Please, TJ. You’re grateful I’m here with you, or else you wouldn’t know anyone.”

TJ simply looked away, knowing very well that Amber was right. They were both heading back to Shadyside to meet their parents, and TJ was both dreading and looking forward to it. On one hand, it had been 5 years since he had last been in Shadyside, so it would be good to see the place where he had grown up. But on the other hand, he was dreading his mother pestering him about his non-existent love life. He had only been in 2 real relationships, and only one of them was even worth remembering. But remembering was painful. How fitting that the place he was going back to was also the place that held the memories of that relationship at every corner.

Cyrus Goodman was, and always had been, an enigma to TJ Kippen. He had swung into his life, almost literally, with his soft encouraging smiles and reassuring words, making TJ feel like maybe, letting his guard down wouldn’t mean the monsters would get to him faster. Cyrus had shaken him to the core in the best way possible, and God alone knows how someone as incredible as him could ever have fallen for someone like TJ. Their ups and downs had only made them stronger, but eventually, some downs are just too hard to come back from. College means drifting apart, it means leaving those people behind. It was practically mutual, but it didn’t mean that the memories didn’t come with that mixture of warmth and a sting.

“Yo, TJ,” Amber said, snapping her fingers in front of TJ’s face, bringing him out of his thoughts. “We’re leaving now.”

TJ nodded, taking his bags and following Amber out of the gate to the bus.

_Probably better to leave the memories back in Shadyside so he could finally truly move on._

*

 **Emily:** I miss you

 **Emily:** maybe we made a mistake

Amber didn’t need to open her phone to read the messages again. They were burned into the back of her mind. With every step she took forward, the words inched closer to her heart. It didn’t help that just above those messages were the ones where Emily was telling her, ‘I just don’t feel the same way anymore,’ and, ‘It’s not you, it’s me’.

_Bullshit. It was always her._

Amber couldn’t believe that Emily even had the balls to send her a message saying she missed her. After she had brutally ripped her heart out and stepped on it with her signature Converse sneakers. That had been a month ago, and it took everything in Amber to try and piece herself back together. That was also part of the reason she was content in returning to Shadyside for a while. She needed a break, and going home seemed the best option. She needed to find herself again. As dramatic as that sounded.

TJ, who was walking next to her, purposely bumped into her, forcing her to smack him upside the head. But she was glad he was there. She didn’t know if she could handle the memories of going home alone.

As she loaded her luggage into the bus, she let her mind wander to Emily. Was it a surprise she liked her? Not at all. She was exactly her type. Brown-haired, sweet and sunshiney personality, and proficient at crafts. There had been one person before her, but that was just a crush, and left at that.

Andi Mack.

Amber smiled to herself, thinking about Andi. Her bracelets, her dressing style, her smile, her laugh. While Amber had crushed on her from afar, that didn’t erase the fact that Andi had become a really good friend of hers. She had helped her change from being the stereotypical mean girl to being a girl who was tough but let people in. Amber wanted nothing more than to pick up her phone and talk to Andi, reminisce on the old times. But that wasn’t going to happen. They had parted ways. Life had taken them on different paths.

Paths that would never intersect.

*

Jonah Beck got onto the bus, carefully clutching his guitar close to him. His suitcase had been stowed away, and he stared out of the window blankly. His hands were shaking slightly, the flight cancellation putting his on the edge. His breaths were growing incredibly unsteady, and he couldn’t let it get out of control. He pulled on the sleeves of his jacket, scratching himself in the process. Ultimately, opened his wallet and pulled out a highly crumpled picture from it, and smoothed it out, the sight of it immediately calming him down.

It was a Polaroid he, Cyrus, Andi and Buffy had taken the last day of high school. Even though he no longer spoke to them, and their paths had diverged long ago, that picture was one of the only things that truly made Jonah feel at ease. He looked at it so often that the creases were growing at an alarming rate. But he didn’t care. It went with him wherever he would go.

Loosely clutching onto the picture, he looked out the window as the bus moved, thinking about their whole friend group. Andi, Buffy, Cyrus, Amber, TJ, Marty. Where were they? What were they doing? He knew they would probably be far, far away, living their perfect lives. He smiled to himself, just wishing they all also missed high school, even if it was just for a second. He leaned against the window, closing his eyes, falling into a restless sleep until the bus reached the hotel.

*

As the evening progressed slowly into night, Andi, Buffy, Cyrus, TJ, Amber and Jonah sat in the bus to the hotel, all starting out thinking about their broken, messed up, confused lives. And all of their trains of thoughts leading to the same station. Them in high school.

All felt like they knew the others were far away, living ideal lives. They kept to their windows and phones for the ride, thinking about the others. They reminisced separately, but prayed for the night to go by fast, to get to the places they needed to go.

But the night hadn’t even begun yet.


	2. Reunions

The bus pulled up to the hotel, the sun well below the horizon by now. Andi pulled out one of her earphones at the sudden halt, peering forward where the conductor was asking them to ‘exit in an orderly fashion and go to the lobby’. She sighed, moving to get up, throwing her duffel bag over her shoulder. She trudged out of the bus with the other unfortunate people who were stuck there that night. When they entered the hotel, they were all directed to this seating area, charitably called a ‘lobby’, where they had to wait while rooms were arranged for them.

Andi huffed, letting the reassurances of ‘We will have it under control soon,’ and ‘We will handle everything,’ slide over her. She sank into a chair near a plug point, pushing in her phone charger and breathing a quiet sigh of relief when the screen lit up. As she scrolled through her phone, checking her posts, she landed on a picture of her in high school, scrolling by as fast as she could. She couldn’t afford to look back at that part of her life, to look back and miss the perfect days when her life was in shambles around her. She would much rather forget those days rather than keep living with the fact that if only…

_See, that’s why. Just forget it and scroll ahead._

Andi sighed and glanced up towards the buffet being laid out for the passengers in the hotel, looking back down. But something made her do a double take. Or rather someone.

By the tables, a tall girl was pacing and talking on the phone, occasionally rolling her eyes but laughing. Her curly hair was up in a bun on her head, and she was wearing a sports hoodie and sneakers. She looked older than before, obviously, but there was no mistaking who it was.

Andi felt her throat go dry, her mind racing at the speed of light, trying to process the fact that this was real. That it was really her.

Buffy Driscoll. One of Andi’s best friends since 2nd Grade till High School. A fellow member of the Good Hair Crew. One of her perfect friends.

Andi didn’t really feel herself get up, didn’t realise she was walking across the lobby until she was just behind Buffy, who was just putting down the phone. Andi shakily drew a deep breath, unexpectedly nervous. Finally, she reached out and tapped Buffy on the shoulder with her finger.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said, causing Buffy to turn around quickly, her eyes wide. It took a minute for her to take in Andi’s appearance, before her face broke into a huge smile. Buffy squealed and pulled Andi into a bone-crushing hug. Andi felt herself smile too, wrapping her arms around Buffy as tight as she could. They spent what felt like forever just clinging onto each other, the surroundings feeling dull in comparison. Eventually, Buffy pulled herself away from Andi, her eyes filled up slightly.

“Oh my god, it feels like forever!” she said, grabbing Andi’s shoulders. “You look so different! Good different of course,” she added. “And your hair! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this length!”

“Well, I underwent a real style transformation,” Andi said, flipping her hair forward. “But look at you, still rocking those sports clothes, I see.”

Buffy laughed slightly, looking down. “Yeah, I didn’t go too much for travel outfits. Comfort over looks any day.”

“Is that a dig at my outfit? I have an aesthetic to keep up, you know.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “What is that? Badass biker?”

Andi’s smiled dropped a bit, her walls being pushed against. “Close, but no.”

After the initial excitement and happiness, the awkward tension grew in between them, Buffy sensing Andi’s change in manner. Both were unsure of what else to say. They glanced back at the other, giving an awkward smile but looking away. This never used to happen to them back in school, but here they were, the silence between them growing. Andi looked down, catching sight of Buffy’s hand, where sat a silver ring. She gasped, grabbing her hand.

“Oh my god, is that what I think it is?” she said, the smile on her face coming back.

Buffy tried to hide her excited smile but to no avail. She held up her hand, showing the ring. “It may be.”

“So, who is it?” Andi asked teasingly.

Buffy’s smile softened, her eyes fond. “It’s Marty.”

“Whoa,” Andi said, her words just louder than a whisper. “After all this time?”

“We met again last time I was in Shadyside, and it just felt right? With him, it always has,” Buffy said.

“I’m so happy for you, Buffy. I really am,” Andi said, clasping her hand.

Buffy sighed, sniffing a bit. She pushed Andi’s shoulder slightly, an unusual gesture but not unwelcome. “What about you? How’s that front of your life?”

Almost instantly, it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of Andi’s lungs. She just kept looking at Buffy, her mind drawing a blank.

Actually, there was no blank. There were thoughts circulating, but all of them were… unpleasant. As her mind kept supplying thoughts, she grew more and more frustrated. She tried desperately to internalise it, to throw it behind the walls she had spent months building. Buffy was staring at her in confusion, as Andi tried to find the words to say, but all that came out was silence.

_Say something, anything. For fuck’s sake, she’s looking at you like you’re insane._

But thankfully, before she had to say anything or explain herself, a welcome distraction came in the form of a voice calling from behind them.

“Andi? Buffy?”

*

Cyrus had just been heading to the buffet to try and find something to eat, seeing that he hadn’t eaten for a good couple hours. He noticed the girl from the airport standing there talking to another girl, the other in a sports hoodie. They had been talking and hugging as if they had been reunited after years. As he caught a glimpse of her, he couldn’t shake the feeling that _he knew her._ Cyrus pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache still not gone, as he wracked his brain trying to figure out who it could be. He looked back at the two girls, hoping that another glance might help him place her. It didn’t help much, he still couldn’t figure out how he knew her. But then he saw the other girl, smiling but her eyebrows furrowed in concern. And that expression made Cyrus feel as if his mind had fallen down a wormhole.

He had seen that expression before. It had been _directed_ at him before by only one person.

That meant…

“Andi? Buffy?” Cyrus called out in utter disbelief. The suitcase he had been dragging along beside him was suddenly forgotten as he walked forward in a daze toward the two girls. They both turned to look at him in shock. And when Cyrus finally got a good look at them he knew he was right.

Andi Mack and Buffy Driscoll.

“Cyrus?!” the both of them said, with shocked smiles on their faces. That was all Cyrus needed to run forward and envelope the two in a group hug. Or, at least try to. He accidentally collided into Andi’s side, pushing the two and nearly toppling them over. The three laughed awkwardly for a bit, before all going into a hug. Cyrus held his two best friends as tight as he could, a part of him convinced that if he didn’t, he would wake up from what clearly had to be a dream.

“What are the odds of all three of us bumping into each other here?” Buffy said after the three pulled away.

Cyrus shook his head, still stunned. “Of all the places we could meet,” he said, stepping back.

“This is by far the craziest thing to happen to me,” Andi said, her smile wide.

The three laughed, Cyrus going back for a moment to get his suitcase from where it was about to become a tripping hazard. When he got back, he finally noticed Buffy’s left hand, doing a double take.

“Wait a minute,” he said, grabbing her hand, eliciting a chuckle from Buffy. “When did this happen? Who is it? How??”

“Like 3 months ago,” Buffy said, shrugging. “Funny thing is Marty and I both asked each other just while we were sitting on the couch watching movies. Just like that.”

“Of course that’s how the proposal went down,” Andi said, facepalming.

“Wait. Marty? From school?” Cyrus asked.

Buffy nodded, looking down at her shoes. “Everyone else I dated after high school was amazing, but I don’t know. I really liked them all, but for some reason, they never lasted. How ever long we went out. Then, a couple years ago, I met Marty in Shadyside while visiting and we started talking again. And I just knew,” she said softly. Hearing her talk couldn’t help but make Andi and Cyrus give each other a look, knowing exactly what the other one was thinking. _God, he had missed this._

“Well, we’re really happy for you Buffy,” Andi said, reaching forward to squeeze Buffy’s shoulder. Cyrus nodded his head with a smile.

“Thanks guys,” Buffy said, going in to hug the two. “God, I never realised how much I missed you guys.”

“I know, it’s been forever,” Cyrus said. “Last I met Andi was 4 years ago and I met Buffy five years ago.”

“That’s too long, it should be illegal for us to be apart that long,” Andi said, pulling away first. Cyrus sighed in agreement.

“Well, I guess one good thing came out of this flight being delayed,” Cyrus said with a small laugh.

The three stood in relative silence, unsure of what to say now that the initial high of reuniting had faded, and all three were painfully reminded that none of them were the people who had left high school 6 years ago.

“So, what’s been up with you guys?” Buffy asked, trying to break the silence.

Andi shrugged, her face neutral. “Nothing really. Since uni ended, I got an offer from Buzzfeed as a content creator. Some DIY stuff, like crafts and writing and stuff.”

“Andi, that’s great,” Buffy said with a smile, confused by Andi’s lack of reaction.

“Yeah, still haven’t decided whether I’m gonna take it. I might go down the design route, like interior or product of something,” Andi replied, crossing her hands.

Buffy nodded slowly, not completely understanding Andi’s thoughts anymore. She turned to Cyrus. “What about you, Cy?”

“Well, I still have to study for my PhD if I wanna be a therapist,” Cyrus said. “But on the other hand, YouTube seems to be going well. So the film-making part is going on too.”

“That’s great, Cyrus,” Andi said, flashing a quick smile.

“And? I’m not just talking about studies you know?” Buffy said with a cheeky smile, aware of how cringey she sounded. But something felt off about the conversation, and she didn’t like it. Things had to be the way they used to.

Cyrus laughed quietly. “Well, don’t look at me about that. Haven’t been in a relationship longer than a couple days for 6 years now.”

Buffy narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? Why not?” Cyrus just shrugged in response. “You mean nobody since…”

“Nope,” Cyrus interrupted before Buffy could say his name, his heart for some reason beating fast. _Why? He was over him. He HAD to be. 6 years for heaven’s sake._

Andi nodded her head, thankfully drawing Buffy’s attention away from him. “I get it. Same situation with me,” she said, lifting her shoulders slightly.

“Oh my god, you two,” Buffy sighed, shaking her head.

“Relationships aren’t the end all, be all of life Buffy. Not for everyone,” Andi said, her words coming across a bit harsher than she intended, a fact she only realised when she saw Buffy flinch. But she couldn’t take it back, even if she regretted it.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes, staring at Andi in confusion. “Wait, really? Nothing?” Andi nodded. “But then when I met you 4 years ago, who was that guy?”

_Fuck._

“Cuz I remember you introduced him as your boyfri-”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Cyrus, you must be mistaken,” Andi said quickly, cutting off Cyrus as fast as she could, before he said anything. _Fuck how could she have forgotten he’s met him, fuck fuck fuck._

Buffy was now staring at her weirdly, as Cyrus waved his hand, shaking his head. “No no no. I remember it clearly. What was his name?” he muttered, snapping his fingers. “I think it was Jake or Jame-”

“Cyrus, I told you you’re mistaken, so you’re fucking mistaken!” Andi hissed loudly, taking Cyrus aback. “God, you really have to stick your nose in everything, don’t you? Sometimes you need to learn to just drop it,” she said, grabbing her bag and walking away, leaving Buffy and Cyrus standing there dumbfounded. Everyone around them had gone silent when Andi had snapped, but soon the mutterings and assorted conversations resumed.

Buffy moved closer to Cyrus, both staring in the direction Andi had walked away.

Cyrus just sighed. “Well, shit.”

*

Andi stalked over to the buffet table in the restaurant, ignoring all the stares and the muttering. Not because she didn’t care. She’d just gotten used to it. Stares, comments, whispers were second nature to her now. She grabbed a plate, walking down the line of cloches, trying to find something vaguely interesting.  However, she was so engrossed in reading the labels that she collided with someone coming the other way.

“Sorry!” the voice yelled.

“Watch where you’re going!” Andi said at the same time, looking up at the person, annoyed. But she froze when she saw his face.

He was staring at her curiously, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to pinpoint why exactly the person before him looked so familiar. “Do I know you?” he asked, pointing at her.

Andi gave him a small smile. “Well, you did. Back when I had shorter hair and no leather jacket. At least, not this colour.”

At first, he just shook his head slightly, but then realisation flooded features, coupled with his characteristic charming smile.

“Andi?!”

“Hey Jonah.”

“Whoa you look different,” he said, before immediately holding up his hands. “Good different! I mean, cool!”

Andi laughed softly, grabbing his hand. “It’s okay Jonah, I know what you meant.” She set her plate down on the table, going in for a hug that Jonah happily reciprocated.  “How have you been?”

“Oh, you know. Music and stuff,” Jonah said with a shrug, his eyes moving to the side briefly. He pulled at the hem of his shirt, trying to resist the urge to ball up the fabric. He looked at Andi, trying not to stare but finding it hard. _She looked so different. Leather jacket. Studs. Was that a tattoo?_

“Whoa, that’s great! I’m still working with crafts,” Andi said, tilting her head to the side. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at Jonah. _Still handsome. But probably still oblivious. But handsome._

“If you didn’t, I don’t know how I would’ve reacted,” Jonah said with a wink, sending Andi laughing, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Jonah couldn’t help but smile and laugh along. _Maybe not go down that rabbit hole_ , he chided himself, shifting his expression to a more neutral happy one.

The two went silent, unsure of what to say. It seemed to be a running theme now, not knowing what to say. But soon, Andi picked up her plate and turned to Jonah with a smile.

“Fried rice?”

*

After an awkward goodbye, Cyrus walked over to the restaurant, making sure to steer clear of Andi, who was talking to a person who looked uncannily like Jonah.

_Probably was Jonah. It’s practically a Shadyside reunion. Oh-fucking-great._

Cyrus just turned away, grabbing a quarter plate of salad and throwing some fries in too, and sitting down at a corner table, hoping to just scroll through his phone in peace and quiet. The night had already drained him out, and it had barely begun.

A part of him was sad that his friend group no longer felt like it did. But what could he have expected? At the end of the day, all of them had parted ways, growing up in different places, living different lives. Them meeting at this hotel before leaving on another flight was just to show how far they had gone. It hurt, but he would just have to get used to it, wouldn’t he?

Cyrus had just about unlocked his phone and opened Twitter when he heard a quiet gasp behind him. Or so he thought. He just ignored it and continued to scroll through dog pictures and memes, exhaling slightly at some of the posts. Just then, he felt someone stand in front of him.

“Is that seat taken?”

_Only one person ever really said that to him in that way. But it couldn’t be him. No. No it couldn’t._

_Could it?_

Unable to believe his ears, Cyrus slowly looked up, mouth slightly open. But when he locked eyes with the person, he knew he was right in what he thought. He gulped, his throat suddenly dry.

“TJ.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! I'm gonna be updating as often as I can but I am going on holiday soon so we'll have to see.  
> Hope you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think!


	3. Paired Off

“Hey Buffy, what’s up? I mean, in the one hour we haven’t spoken,” Marty said with a yawn through the phone. That obviously did not stop him from being snarky, and Buffy just rolled her eyes, even though she knew Marty couldn’t see her.

“You just rolled your eyes, didn’t you?” he said, Buffy just knowing that there was an annoying smirk on his face.

“Shut up Marty,” she said, trying to fight back a smile. “And for your information, a lot happened.”

“Did you reach the hotel? How is it?”

Buffy shrugged. “Just a regular, standard hotel with enough that I can survive a night.”

“Okay good, at least you’ll rest for once,” Marty said with a sigh. Buffy drew a deep breath.

“I don’t know about that, Marty,” she said softly.

“What do you mean? What happened? Did you get hurt? Is there work or something?”

“Marty,” Buffy said, cutting him off before he began rambling. “I met Andi and Cyrus.”

The line was quiet for a few moments, only a faint buzz coming through that was customary when calling between states on a quickly-draining data plan.

“Oh.”

“Is that all you could say?”

“I mean, whoa. How long has it been?”

“Like 5 years at least,” Buffy said with a sigh, pacing about the area.

“And how did it go?” Marty asked quietly, his voice vaguely comforting, as if he already knew the answer.

“As well as you’d think,” Buffy huffed, looking up at the ceiling. “At first it was great, just like old times. Like we had never left high school. Like we were still friends, you know?”

“But then reality kicked in?” Marty said softly. Buffy sighed.

“Yup,” she replied. She let out a short, emotionless laugh. “I really thought everything would be the same as it was. But it wasn’t. Of course it wasn’t. We aren’t the same people.”

“How so?”

“Cyrus seems the same, but except he’s gone full lone ranger, something that’s strange but sure,” Buffy said, leaning against a pillar. “But Andi is, super different. She just snapped at us and walked away. Plus, she looks kinda like how Bex looked when we met her on Andi’s thirteenth birthday.”

“Whoa,” was all Marty could manage, earning a short laugh from Buffy.

She just shook her head. “I don’t know how I expected things to be the same,” she said. “I left high school hell-bent on sports, and here I am as a lawyer.”

“I mean, you’re not the only one who has changed though,” Marty said patiently. “We all have. High school was practically a lifetime ago. People move on.”

“Yeah,” Buffy sighed. “Can’t believe you became so intellectual. It wasn’t long ago that you were just a dumb jock.”

The gasp of horror from Marty’s end sent Buffy giggling as he started to rant about how he was NOT a dumb jock. She just shook her head in amusement.

“Love you, Marty. Bye,” she said before he was done, cutting the call, still laughing. She looked around, most people groaning and making their way to the restaurant, room keys in hand. She should probably be getting her own one soon. The thought of food was incredibly appealing at the minute, her stomach rumbling in agreement. But before she could find her way to the buffet, a hotel attendant approached her.

“Ms Driscoll,” they started with a professional smile. “Unfortunately, there aren’t any more free rooms, so we are unable to give you one.”

“Wait, no no,” Buffy said, shaking her head slightly. “There must be some room free. I don’t care about size or quality, I just need a place to stay for the night.”

“We’re very sorry, ma’am,” they said. “Unless a guest is willing to share a room, there is nothing we can do. We may have to contact another hotel close by to see if they have a spare room.”

Buffy sighed, exhausted. She was ready to surrender to her fate, turning to grab her bag, when a voice called out from behind her.

“She can stay in my room if that’s possible,” said the person, and Buffy turned around to see who it was, only to stop short when she saw none other than Amber Kippen.

“Are you sure it’s not a trouble, ma’am?” the attendant asked, but Amber waved her off with a smile.

“Not at all, I’d be happy to help Ms Driscoll out,” she said, turning to look at Buffy who just stared gobsmacked at her. _Who else was on this bloody flight and in this bloody hotel? Next thing she knew Dr Metcalf would be the manager._

The attendant smiled, walking to the reception to get another key to hand to Buffy before walking away. After she had gone, Buffy gave a short laugh of disbelief before turning to Amber.

“How come you are also here?!” she asked, unable to wrap her head around the situation, Amber laughing at her shocked expression.

“I take it you met TJ then,” Amber replied, but that only made Buffy even more confused.

“TJ’s here too?!”

“Okay, clearly you haven’t met him,” Amber said, slightly taken aback. It took her a minute to process what Buffy had said before narrowing her eyes. “Wait, then what do you mean by ‘also here’? Who else is here?”

Buffy sighed. “Andi and Cyrus. I just ran into them.”

The change in expression was as imperceptible as could be, but Buffy still saw it in Amber’s eyes at the mention of Andi’s name. The nervous hope, the fleeting joy, and the pushing down of all these behind a stoic curtain. It made Buffy smile a bit, bringing her back to high school, with how Amber’s actions ever so slightly betrayed her crush. Not many people could see it, but she did.

Amber put on a bright smile as she grabbed Buffy’s hand, an action that would never have occurred when they were in school, but for some reason felt totally natural in the moment. “Come on, I’m starving!”

“Oh my god, same,” Buffy groaned, letting Amber pull her to the restaurant. But then, she stopped, pulling Amber back a bit so she’d look at her. “Thanks. For the room thing.”

Amber smiled softly. “No problem, Buffy,” she said, pulling Buffy to her by the shoulder as she walked into the restaurant. But suddenly she stopped short and Buffy looked at her, confusion clouding her face.

“What happened, Amber?”

“Did you say Cyrus is here?” Amber asked quietly.

“Yeah. Why?” Buffy replied, furrowing her eyebrows.

“TJ’s also here. Both of them under the same roof. For the first time since…”

_Oh shit._

*

Cyrus hadn’t stopped staring, unable to believe his eyes. 6 years had done a fairly decent job of convincing him that TJ didn’t exist anymore, but now here he was, right in front of him, looking at him exactly the way he used to. And of course, he had opened conversation asking whether the seat in front of him was taken or not. _Classic TJ._ Cyrus hadn’t been able to say anything other than TJ’s name, his heart suddenly in his throat, beating uncontrollably.

“Hi Cyrus,” TJ had finally said after a moment of silence between the two, pulling out the chair opposite Cyrus so he could sit. _Age had not been unkind to him,_ Cyrus thought to himself, unable to even chide his mind. But his smile was still the same as it was in high school. It had always been accompanied with a kiss on the cheek or the forehead, a compliment and, as their relationship had progressed, a whispered ‘I love you’ pressed into the palm of his heart. But now it sat on his face as he faced Cyrus, 6 years of distance making it far removed from high school stories.

“Crazy seeing you here,” Cyrus finally said, after a couple moments of staring at his hands, scratching the inside of his thumb.

“Could say the same to you,” TJ said quietly, keeping his gaze focused on Cyrus. A ghost of a smile played on his lips, and Cyrus had obviously noticed it, and it was driving him crazier than he expected.

 _Get it together. It’s been 6 fucking years. You’ve moved on,_ he yelled at himself, forcing himself to look TJ in the eye, as if to convince himself that yes, he had moved on. But as he looked TJ in the eye, the green irises his focus, he also thought ruefully to himself, _if he had moved on, why had he spent the last 6 years running from relationships?_

TJ broke eye contact, slightly shaking his head as he looked down at the table. “So, uh. You going back to Shadyside for a while, or just passing by?”

“Staying for a bit,” Cyrus said, smiling slightly. “Just a break before I go for my PhD. Plus, I’ve been running out of inspiration lately so maybe going home could kick in something.”

“For your films on YouTube?” TJ said, casually grabbing a fry off Cyrus’ plate. Cyrus raised an eyebrow at his action, but couldn’t stop a soft smile from coming on his face.

“You know about those?” he asked curiously, surprised by TJ knowing about them. It wasn’t like his following was really big, although 234k subscribers was no mean feat.

TJ shrugged, playing off the fact with nonchalance. “They’ve popped up on my Recommended every now and then. So I watched them. They’re cool.” _It wasn’t a lie. One of them had popped up in his Recommended. It’s just that after that one, he avidly watched every single one of them at a stretch. Because he knew that at that time, it was all he had left of Cyrus. Until now._

Cyrus looked surprised. “Really? Thanks,” he said shyly, looking back down as he remembered to eat.

Things were quiet between them, as Cyrus finished his food and TJ scrolled through his phone, occasionally sneaking glances at Cyrus, then immediately looking away, scolding himself. Eventually, Cyrus finished, and looked up at TJ.

“So,” he said, attempting to break the awkward silence between them. “What’re you doing now?”

TJ shrugged. “I studied History in college, and I took basketball. So, I think I may end up becoming a teacher or something.”

“That’s really cool.”

“Really? Me, with kids?”

“Eh, it could work. Who knows?” Cyrus said with a small smile as he pushed back his chair, grabbing his bag as he moved to leave.  Cyrus took a deep breath and looked at TJ with a smile. “It was really nice meeting you again, TJ.” With that, Cyrus turned away ready to leave. But before he could, he heard an impatient sigh from behind him.

“Seriously?” TJ said, his voice slightly annoyed, and Cyrus turned back, seeing a defeated expression on TJ’s face.

“What?”

“It’s the first time we see in 6 years since,” he hesitated, waving his hands as he tried to find what to say. “Since our non-event of a breakup, if we can even call it that. And you’re just walking away again?”

Cyrus took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. _Of course he remembered that, he had just been trying to push that down as he spoke to TJ._ He moved back, sitting back down as he looked at TJ. “It was 6 years ago, TJ. What else is there to say? It just didn’t work, we didn’t talk much anymore, and in the end, it was just silence. We both moved on, right?” _That’s what he hoped. Because now he wasn’t sure if he had ever really moved on._

“Yeah, we have,” TJ said, trying desperately to convince himself, more than anyone else. _He had to have moved on. He had literally been in another relationship after Cyrus. Not that it ended well. And one of the reasons being the ghost of swingsets and high school promises._ He tried to find something else to say, hurtful or not, he would take anything to not have Cyrus walk away. For some reason, he just didn’t want him to leave again, because that would mean like the last time, he would be left in the silence again. But nothing came to mind, and after a long pause, Cyrus just let out a pensive sigh and got up again, this time more definitively.

“That’s all there is, TJ. We were just a high school relationship that ended in college. It isn’t uncommon,” he said quietly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and pulling out his room key. “Goodbye, TJ,” Cyrus said before turning away and walking towards the door. But he stopped, and turned back with a sad smile.

“It really was good to see you again,” he said, pushing open the door and disappearing down the corridor. And just as fast as he had seen him, he had gone.

TJ just sank into his chair, calling the bartender to get himself a beer, unexpected dejection flooding his veins.

 _Why did this goodbye hurt more than their actual break up?_ He asked himself, taking a swig of the beer, the acrid taste making him wince. He knew the answer, of course.

_Because this time, unlike the last, there was an actual, definitive goodbye._

*

“Wow, now that is not something I expected,” Andi said with a laugh, leaving her plate on the table as she walked over to the bar. Jonah followed her, amused smile on his face as he sat on the bar stool adjacent to her. She motioned to the bartender, who walked over to her, towel on his shoulder.

“One whiskey on the rocks,” she ordered, not even looking at the menu. She turned over to Jonah, tilting her head. “What do you want? On me.”

“No, no it’s fine,” Jonah tried to refuse politely, but Andi smiled at him, eyebrows raised, and he gave in. “One Mojito then.”

“Seriously?” Andi teased as the bartender walked over to make their drinks. “Mojito?”

“It’s a tried and tested one!”

“Yeah, for moms at family dinners.”

“Okay, you’re confusing margaritas and mojitos.”

Andi stifled a laugh unsuccessfully, playfully shoving Jonah in the shoulder. In that time, the bartender set their drinks down in front of them, flashing a smile at Andi as he walked away. Smiling,  she held up her glass and clinked it with Jonah’s ignoring the way some of the liquid splashed out.

“To delayed flights and shitty hotels,” she said. Jonah smiled and took a sip of his drink, enjoying the bitter fresh punch to his throat. Just then, he felt his phone buzz and he scrambled to pick it up, dropping his wallet in the process.

“Hey. Yeah, reached the hotel, just had dinner,” Jonah started mumbling down the phone. Andi reached down to pick up his wallet, not paying attention to his conversation. She noticed that a photograph had dislodged itself from the plastic cover. Curious, she picked it up and turned it over, and gasped as she saw her, Buffy, Cyrus and Jonah staring back at her, in all their high school glory. Even though the picture sent nostalgia into her heart, Andi couldn’t help but sigh sadly, remembering very well their encounter just before. But that didn’t stop her from gingerly holding the picture by the edge, treating it as something delicate as she continued to stare at it, million thoughts racing through her head. She didn’t even notice Jonah had gotten off the phone, until he tapped her on the shoulder and she started suddenly.

“You still have this,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Jonah furrowed his eyebrows, confused, until he saw what was in her hands and let out a soft laugh.

“Uh, yeah,” he softly chuckled, taking it from Andi. “I, uh, look at it when I need to calm down. Grounds me and stuff,” he explained, looking down at the picture.

“Who were you talking to?”

Jonah hesitated for a moment, looking to the side before shaking his head. “No one, just a friend.” He bounced on the balls of his feet before looking at his watch and picking up his bag. “I should, uh, probably go to my room.”

Andi nodded, surprised at the disappointment she felt. “What room number?”

“415.”

“Oh, mine’s 321. Guess this is where we part ways.”

With that, Andi tipped her glass at Jonah, smiling slightly. Jonah nodded, walking away. But before leaving, he turned around and smiled at Andi. “You can drop by if you want later.”

And with that, he was gone, and Andi was alone at the bar, sighing as she gulped down her whiskey, calling for another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys so i'll be out of town for the next week or so, so the next update may be late. sorry! hope you like the chapter!


	4. Since We've Been Gone

Three beers later, TJ had moved from the table where Cyrus had left him to the bar, balancing on the stool and he gulped down the drink. He had texted Amber, asking her where she was, and he had just gotten a waffly response about how she was going back to her room, one she was sharing with another passenger. _Great. Even she had company. Super._

As he set down the now empty bottle, TJ called for another beer, not caring about how it would feel in the morning. He knew it would suck, and that his head would feel like utter shit. But he didn’t really care. The bartender flashed him a worried look, but slid another bottle his way. TJ looked around, spotting another person at the bar. A girl, with shoulder length hair and a leather jacket, a whiskey on the rocks in her hand.  Picking up his drink, he turned to face her.

“You also drinking the night away? I get that,” he said, taking a swig. The girl turned to him, eyes narrowed, but she cracked a small smile.

“Well, nothing else to do, huh?” she said, and TJ couldn’t help but feel like _that voice was familiar._ He furrowed his eyebrows and lifted his head slightly.

“You sound familiar,” he said, moving to the bar stool closer to her. She inched away, but narrowed her eyes further.

“Yeah, you too,” she muttered, peering up at him. Suddenly, realisation flooded her face and shoved him in the shoulder.

“Fuck! TJ, is that you?” she exclaimed, smiling.

TJ took a minute to place her, the hair making it harder, but as soon as he did, he laughed in shock, pulling her in for a hug.

“Oh my god, Andi Mack in the flesh,” he said, pulling away, still laughing. “Shit, how are you?”

Andi shrugged. “As good as you’d expect from a person sat at the bar drinking after everyone has gone.”

TJ nodded, holding up his beer slightly. “I feel you. Take it the flight delay was not ideal?”

“Anything but. Not just that, I had some, interesting reunions with people,” she said, taking a long swig of her drink as she stared forward.

“Me too,” TJ said, nodding. “Who did you meet?”

“Buffy and Cyrus. Did not go well. Started good, ended bad. My fault mostly,” she said softly, looking own.

“Fuck, Buffy’s here too?” TJ asked, looking up in surprise as Andi nodded.

Andi narrowed her eyes at him. “Who did you meet? Cuz it seemed like you didn’t know Buffy was here, but you didn’t say anything about…” Andi trailed off, realisation hitting her as TJ looked away and took a big gulp of beer, wincing slightly.

“Cyrus?” TJ said quietly, and Andi sighed.

“Was it the first time since..?”

“Yup. This time though, I actually got a goodbye so, now we know its permanent.”

Silence fell between them as both continued to take sips of their drinks, unsure of what else to say. But, unlike with Buffy and Cyrus, Andi just didn’t care about having to find things to say with TJ. Something in her just told her that TJ too just wanted to be left alone in the silence.

Finally, after a couple minutes, Andi spoke up. “So, how’s Amber doing?”

TJ looked up. “She’s okay. She’s here too, you know?”

At that, Andi perked up, much to her own annoyance because _she thought she was done with that_. “Oh?” is all she managed, the word coming out high-pitched.

TJ laughed a bit, narrowing his eyes. “I’m surprised you didn’t see her. I thought you were her roommate.”

“She has a roommate?”

“Apparently they didn’t have any free rooms left for this one person, so Amber offered her room.”

“Well, that’s unusual for her,” Andi said, furrowing her eyebrows. “Especially if it’s some random person.”

“I know,” TJ said. “Which is why I assumed it was you when I saw you here. She’s always had a soft spot for you.”

For some reason, that comment made Andi’s cheeks grow warm, a fact she did not appreciate, and she kept her eyes focused on the table as she finished her whiskey. She was beginning to internally debate how to end the conversation because as much as she enjoyed it, she just really wanted to be alone. And reminders of high school were the last thing she needed. Given everything that made up her life. But thankfully, TJ finished his beer and placed his bottle on the table, taking his coat as he stood up.

“Well, I gotta go to my room now,” he said with a tired smile. “It was nice meeting you Andi. God, it’s like Shadyside reunion time, huh?”

Andi just smiled, tipping her glass at him as he walked away. She dropped her smile as soon as he left, gulping down the rest of her drink as she pushed herself away from the table, the room swaying slightly as she dragged herself away from the bar. _To the room, and there she would stay._

*

“So, have you guys decided a date?” Amber said, as she flopped onto the bed. Buffy, who was just pulling her suitcase in, narrowed her eyes in amusement at Amber.

“Date for what?”

Amber groaned, pushing herself up. “For your wedding, you idiot!”

Buffy laughed, sitting on the foot of the extra bed, looking at Amber who was now lying on her stomach, resting her head on her hands as she looked at Buffy with a giddy smile. “Not really, but we’re aiming for late next year.”

“And theme?”

“Hmm, minimalistic.”

“Classic Muffy.”

“What did you say?” Buffy said, narrowing her eyebrows as Amber laughed at her expression.

“You know? Marty and Buffy, Muffy?” Amber said, but Buffy just continued to shake her head in confusion.

“I don’t even wanna know,” she said, laughing.

Amber laughed, feeling her phone buzz with a notification. She picked it up, and as soon as she saw the name, her smile dropped.

Emily.

She quickly put down the phone, and looked up at Buffy, nervously pushing her a strand of hair back. “So, what’s new with work?”

“Are you okay?” Buffy asked quietly, her eyes narrow in worry.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Amber said, looking down, but Buffy grabbed her hand, making her look at her.

“You know that doesn’t work on me,” she said, and Amber gave her a small smile, letting out a long sigh.

“Why are you so good at reading people?”

Buffy shrugged, smiling. “I just am. You’re an open book when something’s bothering you.” She moved over to Amber’s bed, sitting down next to her. Amber kept her eyes trained to the ground, taking a deep breath in.

“A year ago, I met this girl who I worked with at a coffee shop during college. She was a Fine Arts major, and an aspiring painter. She would always turn up to work late because she would be working on something, her jeans and shoes always had huge paint stains. She was kind and smart and funny, and for some reason, she decided that I was someone worth spending time with. Her name’s Emily.” As she finished, Amber’s voice cracked, a fact she disguised by coughing. But Buffy didn’t buy it.

“I take it, all wasn’t perfect eventually?” Buffy asked softly, and Amber nodded quietly.

“I kept feeling like she wanted to be anywhere except with me when we went out. I just thought I was being paranoid. I was blind, and I thought everything would be okay, because I loved her,” Amber said, her voice breaking as she reached up to hastily wipe away her tears. Buffy came close to her side and hugged her, resting her head on Amber’s shoulder.

Amber looked up at the ceiling, releasing a shaky breath before continuing. “Then, a month ago, I get this text from her as I was going back from work.” She pulled her phone to her and opened it, scrolling up to the message and showing Buffy the phone. Buffy pulled it to her, her eyes running over the words, immediately looking up at Amber when she was done.

“Well, that’s lame,” Buffy said, thankfully eliciting a small laugh from Amber. “Over text too?”

Amber nodded sadly, scoffing. “It’s bullshit. Obviously it’s me, it’s always me. Every single relationship I’ve been in, I think it’ll last, but then it doesn’t. Maybe I just don’t deserve it.”

“That’s not true, Amber,” Buffy said, squeezing Amber’s hand, but she pulled away.

“Of course it is, think about it,” she said, her eyes desperate. “From back in high school to now, every single one has just been the same thing. I go too fast, or I get jealous, or I’m just not enough.”

“Okay you listen to me, Kippen,” Buffy said, lifting up Amber’s chin so that she was looking at her. “The Amber we met in high school took no shit from anyone. You were, and still are, an annoying and stubborn pain in the butt. But guess what? That’s you. You are confident in yourself, and you are a strong presence. And if people can’t handle it, it’s their problem!”

Amber looked up at Buffy nervously. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said softly, resting her head back on Amber’s shoulder.

Amber smiled and leaned her head on Buffy’s, sighing. But soon, she looked up again. “She did text me saying maybe we made a mistake.”

“No she did not!” Buffy yelled, and Amber laughed, nodding her head.

“See for yourself,” she said, handing Buffy the phone.

Buffy just shook her head with a laugh, looking at Amber. “Just block her, she’s not worth the trouble.”

Amber laughed, looking down at her phone. It took a while, but after some encouraging from Buffy, she ended up clicking ‘Block’ on Emily’s contact before tossing her phone onto the bed.

“That felt good,” she sighed, putting her arm around Buffy’s shoulder and leaning her head against hers.

“I know,” Buffy said softly, smiling at Amber.

And for that moment, Amber’s heart was just a tinier bit lighter.

*

Slumping onto the bed, Cyrus opened his phone to find texts from a guy he had gone out with a couple nights ago. He was nice enough, kind, sweet, charming. But, Cyrus couldn’t imagine having anything more serious that what they were, something the other was clearly not up for. Cyrus sighed, shutting off his phone, pinching the bridge of his nose. That encounter with TJ (because ‘encounter’ was the only word he could use to even try and describe it) had been unexpectedly emotionally tense. Although, why was he surprised? Given their story…

Cyrus rolled over to one side, playing over the conversation in his head. The surprise and shock, the brief hit of nostalgia, the bitter annoyance on TJ’s face as he first began to walk away, and finally, the tired defeat. After everything, after 6 years of silence, there it was.

Goodbye.

And now here he was, in his hotel room, alone, running away from people who wanted to get closer to him because the ghost of his first real relationship still haunted him, even though he refused to admit it. He had to face it now. He probably never really got over TJ Kippen.

And that terrified him.

Cyrus smiled wistfully to himself, remembering high school. Dates at the Spoon, holding hands under the lunch table, stealing hidden moments in empty hallways, short handwritten notes pressed into palms while running down the hall to class. He had been in love, there was no doubt about it. That was the first time, but not the last time. But it had been the last time he had acted on his feelings.

 _Funny,_ he thought to himself. _All the time in school, when Cyrus saw Jonah have issues with commitment to relationships, he never imagined himself ever having that problem. But there he was, desperately starting the getaway car every time someone wanted more._

Cyrus lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He had to let go of the past, of TJ. That was the only way he would ever truly move on. But he shook his head, pulling the cover over himself as he rested his head on the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut.

He didn’t need to think about it just then. He just needed to sleep, and then get on the flight, and never see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was short, I was travelling all of last week, so I wasn't able to work on it much. Hope you like it!


	5. Rooms

With some amount of difficulty, Andi found her way to her room, struggling a bit with her keycard. Truth be told, her vision was slightly hazy, and her actions slightly impaired. But nothing to worry about, if she slept it off she would just wake up with a pounding headache and a reason to keep her head down and not look at anyone else, jut finding her way to Bex and Bowie’s for a day’s break before continuing onwards. Finally, after what felt like aeons, she pushed open the door, slotting in the card to power the lights. She winced at the sudden light, peering around the room she had been given.

It wasn’t really bad, though the walls, painted a slate grey, didn’t do much to help the room’s aesthetics. Instead, it made it look smaller than it was, to some people, maybe even suffocating. But Andi could care less. She just toed off her shoes, tossing her duffel bag on the small armchair at one corner. On the wall behind her bed was a typical piece of ‘artwork’ displayed in many hotels. Probably to make the room look more ‘inviting’ or ‘welcoming’. The carpet was rough under her feet, a dirty blue colour. The bed was neatly made, a similar shaded blue throw pillow resting delicately against the pillows.

Within one minute, all this was unceremoniously undone. The throw pillow was on the floor by the bathroom, and the sheets were crumpled up, as Andi slumped onto the bed, sitting up as she wrapped the blanket around herself. She scrambled around, looking for the remote to the television. Not that she had much hope for the quality of entertainment on it. But trashy reality TV was better than nothing. She surfed channels, her eyes already beginning to close, when she found a rerun of the recent season of ‘The Bachelorette’ and she smiled to herself in amusement, leaning back as she immersed herself in the utter and unabashed drama.

As the episodes progressed, Andi felt groggier and groggier, and she turned off the TV, checking her phone before she decided to close her eyes and actually get some sleep. She opened Instagram, smiling slightly on seeing the notification of the post she had made with her friends 6 years ago. But soon, she narrowed her eyes, opening the messages, noticing a request. Curious, she clicked it.

 **john_c_12:** long time bean

It took her a minute, but seeing the nickname ‘bean’, she threw down her phone as if something had burned her. Her breath hitched in her throat, a choked sob coming through as she cover her mouth with both hands.

_No no no how did he find her fuck fuck fuck but she had made sure he couldn’t find her. She’d told all her friends to not give him her new account and they wouldn’t go behind her back? They wouldn’t. So how did he find her how the fuck was his name now on her phone. And he made a new account because he knew that one wouldn’t be blocked, how fucking crazy was he._

Her breath grew shallow, as she picked up the phone gingerly. She opened his profile, clicking the ‘Block’ option, but her finger hovered over it in hesitation. Her throat was dry, and she gulped, trying to calm down. She exited the menu, and instead, drawing a shaky breath, opened the keypad, her hands shivering.

 **shackinthemack_** : what do you want bastard

 **john_c_12:** now now thats not a way to say hi to someone after 3 years

 **shackinthemack_** : rules for normal people don’t apply to fucking assholes

 **shackinthemack_** : leave me alone john or

 **john_c_12:** or what?

 **john_c_12:** andi you don’t need to continue this conversation

 **john_c_12:** yet here you are

 **john_c_12:** what does that say?

 **shackinthemack_** : I think its me telling you to leave me the fuck alone

 **john_c_12:** sure keep telling yourself that

 **john_c_12:** see you soon bean

Andi set down her phone, her hands shaking as she brought them up to her face, burying it in them.  _How could this happen to her again._  She could feel a sob lodged in her throat but there was nothing she could do. Because he was right. No matter what she did, she still fell for it. She could’ve blocked him then and there, but she didn’t.

_Stupid. That’s what she was. Stupid and broken and fucked up._

Andi pushed herself out of bed, shuffling over to the minibar, yanking open the door and grabbing a beer. Normally, minibars were an untouchable luxury. But hey, the airline was paying for everything.  _Halle-fucking-lujah._

The acrid tasting liquid made Andi wince as soon as she took her first sip, but soon enough she gulped the whole can down, vaguely acknowledging how much of a bad idea it was.

_She couldn’t be alone. She had to do something, leave her room, run away, distract herself. But what could she do?_

Andi lay back in bed, her head spinning slightly. In her mind, flashes flew by. Blonde hair, ocean eyes, a charming smile.

_Found a distraction._

*

Amber and Buffy had moved from sitting up on the bed to pulling out Amber’s packed wine and laying back on their respective beds, chatting about everything and nothing.

“This is weird,” Buffy said, sipping her wine. Amber looked over at her, rolling onto her side.

“What is?”

“This,” Buffy said, giggling, gesturing between them. “We’re lying here, sipping wine and talking like best friends, when back in high school, we barely tolerated each other.”

“Huh,” Amber said, scrunching her nose. “You’re right. Hey!” she exclaimed, holding out her glass. “To breaking down stupid high school tolerances!”

“I’ll drink to that,” Buffy said, chuckling, clinking glasses with Amber. They drank in comfortable silence, Buffy staring up at the ceiling, a pleasant smile on her face.

“Hey,” Amber said after some time, looking over at Buffy. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Buffy asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Be so great at everything. From what we’ve both seen of all the people here, we’re all messed up. Like, seriously, all of us have issues. But then there’s you, you have your life together. You’re engaged! Like, how do you do it?”

Buffy’s smile dropped slightly, and she set down her glass, turning over to look at Amber, resting on her arm.

“I’m not perfect, Amber,” she said quietly. Amber narrowed her eyes, confused.

“Yeah yeah, nobody’s perfect and shit, but, your life is together! That’s amazing!”

Buffy just shook her head. “I mean, yeah. But, it’s not where I thought I’d go.”

“What do you mean?”

Buffy let out a breath. “Well, so I’m a lawyer, right?”

“Uh huh. That was a surprise, but hey,” Amber said, leaning forward.

“I didn’t plan on being one.”

“Well, duh. You always wanted to be in sports,” Amber said with a giggle, but looking over to see Buffy’s serious expression, she stopped. “Wait, are you okay?”

Buffy just shook her head, drawing a deep breath before continuing. “Well, I had a sports scholarship to my college, allowing me to pursue basketball seriously along with my major. I hadn’t chosen it yet, but I was leaning towards Sports Management, as one would expect. But, but then,” she hesitated, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“What?”

“I did some really stupid shit in college. I, I can’t even say it because, that’s not who I am. I, I just hung around the wrong people. And so, I lost the scholarship, and my grades dropped so much that, I couldn’t apply to the course I wanted. I nearly got kicked out,” Buffy said, her voice cracking. Amber reached forward, grabbing Buffy’s hand. She looked up at her, giving a small smile. “They gave me a second chance, allowing me to choose from certain majors. And Law was the only one even vaguely of interest to me. And now, here I am. So, I’m not perfect, Amber.”

Amber looked at her, and got up, wrapping an arm around Buffy’s shoulder as she sat down beside her on the bed. “But you picked yourself back up, Driscoll. That’s what matters. So, my point still stands,” she said warmly, squeezing her shoulders.

Buffy scoffed, looking up. “But I lost myself in college, Amber! Me, who calls herself strong and stuff. How strong could I be if I let myself get pulled into that?”He tiptoed down the hall,

“Actually,” Amber said with a shrug. “Even the strongest people can lose their path in college. New environment, new people. It’s overwhelming. You aren’t weak for losing track.” Amber lifted Buffy’s head by her chin, making her look at her. “Do you hear me, Buffy?”

Buffy nodded, tears brimming her eyes, as she leaned her head on Amber’s shoulder. “Thanks, Kippen.”

“Anytime, Driscoll.”

*

TJ pulled his jacket closer around himself as he pried open his room door, grabbing his keycard. He tiptoed down the hall, even though he knew there was absolutely no need him to do so. His was a hotel, people could do whatever they wanted. But a small part of him still felt like a child, sneaking away as if he were doing something bad. But he really wasn’t. TJ had spent the past hour or so tossing and turning in bed, trying fall asleep, but to no avail.

TJ walked into the foyer, looking around to see if there was any place he could go, noticing a door in the back. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly mad his way across the room, pushing open the door, wincing slightly at the sucking noise it made while moving. The cold night air hit him in the face, already invigorating him. Looking around, he realised he was in the garden or courtyard area. There were many potted plants here and there, scattered casually around the area. All the pots and plants were bathed in a pale white light, courtesy of the moon shining up in the sky. TJ looked up at the sky, taking a step forward. The stars weren’t so visible, thanks to light pollution, but he knew they were there. And that comforted him.

_They were right there, hidden behind everything, but there. The best things are always there, no matter how many things hide it._

TJ walked slowly, taking in the surroundings. The plants were drooping, leaves scattered around the bases of the pots. Even the pots were cracked, dirt falling through. But it had a certain charm to it. TJ took a deep breath, his eyes landing on something that made his chuckle softly to himself.

A swing.

But not just any swing. A bench swing.  _Such an irony._

TJ shook his head slightly, walking over to the swing and sitting down. He kicked the ground slightly, sending the swing swaying a small amount.  _Funny how something that was a combination of two significant things to him and Cyrus was just there in the hotel when they had run into each other._

TJ tried to clear his mind of Cyrus, chiding himself, repeating the fact that he had said goodbye for good over and over, but whatever he tried, Cyrus ran through his mind. He always did.

 _Face it, he had never moved on from Cyrus Goodman,_  TJ told himself, sighing as he rested against the back of the bench.  _If nothing else, that was proved to him._

TJ kicked the ground below the swing, hurting his toe slightly.  _Made sense. Even Gabriel saw it._

Closure. Weird thing. You never know if you have it or not until you are staying up every single night, thoughts still stuck on the person you once knew in a way that made your head spin, and you bolt up, questioning the ending of your story. That was what it felt like to TJ every night after he had made peace with the fact that he and Cyrus were done. It had happened halfway through first year, and he couldn’t help but think, think, think.

You never know what closure is until you realise you don’t have it.

TJ kicked the ground again, pushing the swing slightly higher. There wasn’t much use in questioning closure anymore, given that ‘goodbye’ would have to work well enough.

TJ stared off ahead, mind blank, the swing swaying slightly. The only thing he could hear was crickets chirping. Just then, he heard footsteps approaching the swing.  _Probably the guard,_  he thought to himself as he turned around, eyes going wide.

“Is that seat taken?”

*

Jonah packed up his guitar after having played it for a while, his fingers sore from lack of practice. He opened the minibar, grabbing a soda and cracking it open, gulping it down as fast as he could.  _Why had he thought not drinking water the whole day would be a good idea?_

He surfed the TV channels for a while, pausing only now and then at the news and American Idol, but ultimately decided to switch it off, opening his phone for a distraction instead.  _Instagram always had the answers._

He had been scrolling through a collection of cat videos, music covers, memes and challenges, when he heard a slow, dragged out knocking at his door. Narrowing his eyes, he set down his phone of the bedside table, walking slowly toward the door.

_It was past midnight, who the fuck could it be?_

Jonah collected himself and opened the door slightly, peering through the small crack.

“Hey Jonah.”

Andi.


	6. Inhibitions

“Can’t sleep either?” TJ asked, looking at Cyrus. He had his arms crossed tight around his chest, wearing only a light jacket as he moved to sit down next to TJ on the swing.

“Clearly not,” Cyrus replied, his voice tight as he leaned against the back. “Why are you out here?”

TJ shrugged, looking up at the sky. “I was just roaming about and I found the door to here. It’s quiet and peaceful so I figured I’d just sit here till I felt sleepy.” He looked over at Cyrus, eyebrow quirked. “Question is, what are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I didn’t,” Cyrus said, a bit too quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut, and faced ahead. “I was walking about, trying to see if I could get something to eat, when I saw someone come out here. So, I followed, ad it turned out to be you, sitting on a swing.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” TJ said, surprised at the sincerity of his words. So was Cyrus, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

“Seriously?” he asked, scrunching his nose in the way that used to make TJ laugh softly, but now he forced himself to just keep a simple smile on his face.

“Yeah,” TJ shrugged, draping his hand on the back of the swing. “At least I have some other company other than just the moon.”

“But it’s a new moon night.”

“Oh. Then, I guess I would’ve just been alone.”

Cyrus laughed, looking down at his hands, and TJ snuck a glance at him, his heart softening slightly from the dinnertime conversation. _Speaking of which…_

“I’m sorry, by the way,” TJ said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. “For what I said earlier in the evening. I, I just-”

“Don’t be sorry,” Cyrus said firmly, looking over at TJ. “You had every right to be mad. It’s true, I was walking away again, and I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean again?” TJ asked, narrowing his eyes. Cyrus sighed, looking back down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs.

“Come on, Teej,” Cyrus said, that old nickname sending TJ’s heart racing. “You know what I mean.”

“Actually, I don’t,” TJ said, turning to face Cyrus, leaning in slightly.

“Don’t make me say it. I’ll feel worse,” Cyrus whispered, and TJ grabbed his hand lightly.

“What do you mean, Cy?”

Taking a deep breath, Cyrus looked up at the sky for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut. “I was the first one to not respond to messages and emails. The first to make excuses for not calling. The one who never messaged back. I walked away back then.”

“Cyrus,” TJ said softly. “That was a long time ago. Plus, you and I both know, we were both to blame for how things ended. If you hadn’t been the one to not reply, it most definitely would’ve been me, and we both know that.”

Cyrus nodded slowly, looking back up at TJ. TJ looked back at him, their eyes meeting. No one had to know about the way Cyrus felt himself start to get lost in TJ’s green eyes, and TJ would never dare relinquish the secret that was the way he felt warm looking in Cyrus’ brown eyes. The silence should’ve been awkward, given everything they had been through, but it just wasn’t. It was like they had been catapulted back in time, to middle school, to another night, another bench. Back when their relationship first began, by the fire and the distant music trickling through the air.

But their stupor soon broke, an insistent buzzing coming from TJ’s phone. TJ snapped back to reality, his cheeks growing warm as he picked up his phone to see who it was. He had never been more thankful for the lack of light. He opened the notifications, and immediately groaned slightly.

“What is it?” Cyrus asked, concerned as he peered at TJ.

“Nothing,” TJ mumbled, setting down the phone, but Cyrus caught sight of the name, and narrowed his eyes. “Who’s Gabriel?”

TJ squeezed his eyes shut, looking down at his feet. Cyrus leaned down, trying to catch TJ’s eye, but he was avoiding him very well. It didn’t take long, however, for the pieces to fall in place.

“Is, is he your boyfriend?” Cyrus asked quietly, ignoring the way his heart sank. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to hear the ‘yes’ from TJ, and he braced himself for it.

But TJ just scoffed slightly. “No, no. He’s my ex, actually. But, I don’t know why he is even texting me right now. He’s the one who ended it.”

“He did?” Cyrus asked curiously, tilting his head slightly. “How come? Who would let someone like you go?”

The irony of that question coming from Cyrus made TJ laugh slightly, glancing over at Cyrus. “You gonna rethink that?”

Cyrus raised his eyebrows, before his eyes went wide with realisation. Soon enough, he too was laughing slightly, their breaths slightly visible in the increasingly cold night air.

“God what a crazy day,” TJ whispered, earning a giggle from Cyrus.

“Tell me about it. It’s like Shadyside reunion in here,” he added, looking over at TJ with a goofy smile.

TJ laughed shortly, looking back at Cyrus, his gaze flicking down. Cyrus caught his breath, the soft smile on TJ’s face making it hard to separate their current situation from the last time they were on a bench like that. Of course it was going to be hard to separate the two, when TJ had that exact smile on his face, and the stars were up in the sky, and the air was cold, and Cyrus’ heart wouldn’t stop racing at the speed of light.

“Cy,” TJ whispered, his hand resting beside Cyrus’ on the bench, their fingers just close enough to feel like ghost touching them. _Exactly the same as that night._

But, he couldn’t have that night again. So Cyrus coughed slightly, pulling his jacket around himself. “I, uh, I think I should probably go to sleep now. Flight and all.”

That seemed to break TJ out of his trance, and he nodded, Cyrus trying to ignore the obvious disappointment in his eyes. He couldn’t dwell on that, on their past. He had done that for so long.

“I’ll keep sitting out here, just for a bit,” TJ said softly, smiling up at Cyrus, before looking up at the sky.

Cyrus nodded, crossing his arms as he got up, moving to walk to the door. But, before he could leave the garden, hand on the door handle, he turned to look back at TJ, a soft smile on his face.

“Goodnight, TJ.”

“Goodnight Cyrus,” TJ responded quietly, eyes still fixed on the sky.

And with that, Cyrus turned around and left.

*

“Andi? What are you doing here?” Jonah asked, confused. Andi smiled at him, leaning against the doorframe, laughing slightly. Her steps were shaky and wobbly, and she pushed herself off the frame, trying to hold her balance.

“Can’t a girl see her friend?” she asked, laughing as she walked into the room, Jonah closing the door behind her.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, guiding her carefully to the bed.

Andi snorted, laughing loudly. “Me? Drunk? Noooo,” she said, shaking her head vigorously. “I’m just slightly intoxicated.”

“Okay,” Jonah said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Wait, I’ll get you some water.”

“No!” Andi said loudly, grabbing Jonah’s wrists, pulling him back to the bed. “Stay,” she said, in a voice that made her sound like a toddler.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay,” Jonah said, laughing slightly as he sat back down on the bed, surprised by Andi immediately tackling him in a hug. “Um, Andi?”

“I’ve had a bad night,” she mumbled into his shoulder, and Jonah looked down at her, patting her head.

“Andi, what happened? Do you wanna talk about it?” Jonah offered, but Andi shook her head.

“Nope. No. No talking,” she said. “I wanna be distracted.”

“Distracted? How?” Jonah asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Andi’s eyes travelled across the room, but eventually, they landed on the guitar lying in the corner, and her eyes lit up, raising a finger to point at it.

“You want me to play the guitar?” Jonah asked, amused. Andi nodded, leaning back on the bed as Jonah went to get the guitar, grabbing a pick on the way. “What do you wanna hear?”

“Whatever, just sing something,” Andi mumbled.

Jonah thought for a bit, before smiling and saying, “Anyway, so here’s Wonderwall.”

Andi laughed loudly as Jonah began to play the opening chords, but she fell quiet as he began to sing.

Jonah’s voice had changed from when they were kids, but not much. It had in fact become better, an obvious testament to his training and increasing ease of performing. It was no surprise to Andi that he was now rising in popularity, his voice, personality and looks all contributed to it. But when she heard him sing, all Andi could picture was Jonah Beck sitting on a stool on the small stage at the Red Rooster, singing about a person crying. She saw the boy who spoke about Ultimate Frisbee, and who grew to be an important part of their friend group. A person whose first love had been her, as Cyrus had been convinced. And, at some point, Andi had liked him too. But she didn’t anymore.

 _Or did she?_ She asked herself, as she couldn’t pull her eyes away from Jonah as he finished the song, her heart beating fast. _It was probably the alcohol._ Jonah looked up from the guitar with his characteristic smirk, catching Andi staring at him. “Everything okay, Andiman?”

“You haven’t called me that in years,” Andi said with a laugh, sitting up and scooting towards Jonah.

“Well, we haven’t met in years,” Jonah said softly, smiling at Andi.

Andi smiled back, her gaze flitting down and back up. She knew she didn’t like Jonah, not like that. She hadn’t for a while. And every part of her screamed that it was a bad idea. But her brain was just chanting one word to her as she gazed at Jonah.

_Distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction distraction_

That is the only reason Andi leaned in slightly, moving closer to Jonah. She could hear Jonah catch his breath, looking at her, his gaze flicking down. Andi sat up slightly more, the jerk sending her head spinning, so she grabbed Jonah’s shoulder for support, the action making them move closer together. They were so close, she could practically feel Jonah’s breath on her face. Andi squeezed her eyes shut, making up her mind about what she was doing, her brain still screaming _distraction_ at her as she inched forward, aware of how Jonah was doing the same, hand on her cheek.

Just then, a loud buzzing filled the room, causing the two to jump back, Jonah’s cheeks red. He reached back to the nightstand to grab his phone, the called ID making his eyes go wide.

“I, uh, I gotta take this, um. Sorry,” Jonah mumbled, not looking Andi in the eye. If she had been sober, she would’ve described his behaviour as ‘sheepish’. Jonah took his phone and answered the call, walking into the bathroom.

Curious, Andi pushed herself off the bed and stumbled over to the bathroom, pressing her ear against the door. Surprisingly, the sound was pretty good and clear.

“Yeah, I’ll sleep soon Annie, don’t worry,” Jonah was saying, a muffled laugh reaching Andi’s ears. “Yes, I also called the venue. They said we can come in on Tuesday to check it out.”

 _Venue? For what? And who was Annie?_ Andi asked herself, focusing back on his conversation.

There must have been some words said on the other end, because for the next few moments, all Andi could hear was sighs and laughter. Finally, Jonah spoke again.

“Yeah I know, babe. I love you too.”

 _Babe?_ Andi thought, her eyes going wide, the memory of just a few minutes before coming up in her mind, something she was now trying desperately to push down. But nothing would beat what she felt in the next few moments.

“And yeah, I think we can send the ‘Save the dates’ now.”

As soon as those words were said, Andi gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. _Save the dates had to mean a wedding. Which meant…_

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE A LAPTOP I HAVE A NEW LAPTOP OMG I CAN FINALLY UPDATE THIS. 
> 
> Sorry it’s so short but I just did it right now skfhdksk I hope you liked this! dw the het stuff pained me to write dw.


	7. Fear and Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: PANIC ATTACK, MENTION OF EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck how could this happen why was this happening shit shit shit._

Andi staggered back from the door, her breathing shallow. Her heart was racing and her stability was not being helped by the level of intoxication she was at. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, and she quickly brought her hand up to wipe it away. There was a loud pounding in her ears as her thoughts stormed around her head, and she stumbled onto the bed, her breathing growing more and more rapid.

_She fucked up, she’s fucked she always fucks up everything pathetic pathetic pathetic she was nearly a fucking homewrecker how could she._

Andi was too busy staring at the ground trying to control her breathing, so she didn’t hear Jonah open the bathroom door and walk into the room.

“Andi? Is everything okay?” Jonah asked, voice laced with concern as he walked over to Andi, grabbing her shoulder as he tried to meet her eye. But all she could do was shake her head over and over, keeping her head down.

“Hey, hey, Andi. Look at me, focus on me,” Jonah said quietly, grabbing her wrist, but she pulled away, pushing herself off the bed.

“I have to go,” Andi mumbled, pushing Jonah slightly as she stumbled to the door.

“Wait, why?” Jonah asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Andi, you’re clearly not okay.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t stay here,” she said, finally looking up at Jonah, surprised at the tears brimming in her eyes.

At first, Jonah looked confused, but when his memory caught up to him, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “If, if this is about that moment, I swear it’s okay, Andi. It just happened in the heat of the moment.”

“Yeah, I almost kissed an engaged person, that’s what just happened!” Andi yelled, her voice breaking. Jonah flinched, squeezing his eyes shut because how much ever he wanted to fight what she said, it was the truth. But he shook his head slightly.

“You didn’t know Andi,” he started, but she held out her hand, shaking her head.

“Just leave me alone, I hate myself enough as it is,” she said quietly before walking out of the door, leaving Jonah to collapse onto the bed, head in his hands.

It was only after she left the room that everything really hit her, and she slumped against the wall, hiccupping as the sobs left her sore throat.

*

Walking back down the dimly lit hotel corridors, Cyrus pulled the jacket closer around himself, smiling softly. It was easier to do that in the dark, no one around to see him. In the dark was when he could allow his heart to melt thinking about TJ, and their midnight garden meeting.

Cyrus knew that it was a rabbit hole, thinking about the way TJ looked bathed in the silver-kissed moonlight, his soft smile that still managed to make his head spin, and his hand so close to his own, sending butterflies in his stomach flying wild. But he also knew that if he didn’t let the thoughts through that they would get stuck, and stay forever in his head, haunting him with every footstep. There was a moment that night, just before Cyrus got up to leave, when the pull was the strongest, when Cyrus wanted to do nothing more than to test the boundaries, to close the distance and make up for all the years they had been apart. But that would not have ended well, and Cyrus knew it. But the midnight daydreams floated about his head, soothing his heart with every tiny crack it made.

As he walked out of the elevator, Cyrus mulled over the fact that he knew this was the end. They had said goodbye. Twice now. There were no more unsaid words between them. The air was clean. So why didn’t it feel like an ending?

Shaking his head, he walked down the corridor, fully intending to go to sleep when he stopped short, hearing a faint sobbing sound coming from down the hall. Cyrus turned in that direction, narrowing his eyes, as he followed the sound, only to be surprised when he saw Andi sitting on the ground, clutching the wall behind her, her breathing rapid.

“Andi?” Cyrus asked, the sound causing her to snap up her head. Tears were streaming down her face, her eyes red and watery as she was breathing shortly through her mouth, her face slightly red.

“Hey, hey,” Cyrus said softly, grabbing her hand as he looked at her. “Andi, look at me please. Please.”

“I, I can’t, I can’t,” Andi gasped, her words barely audible.

“Yes, you can. I’m here with you, this will end. I just need you to breathe with me, okay?” Cyrus said, leaning in to catch her eye.  Andi finally looked up at Cyrus, nodding her head slightly.

“Okay, in,” Cyrus said, sucking in an exaggerated breath, Andi following suite in a far more shaky manner. “And out,” Cyrus said quietly, Andi following. They did this for some time, until Andi’s sobs grew quieter into the occasional hiccup and tears slowly making their way down her face.

“Better now?” Cyrus asked softly, and Andi nodded, pushing herself off the ground with some help from Cyrus.

“Thank you Cy,” she said with a small smile, and Cyrus just smiled back, pulling her into a tight hug.

“It’s what best friends are for,” he said after pulling away and she laughed, the sound very much welcome after everything.

Cyrus put his arm around Andi, walking down the corridor ro where his room was, Andi walking along, wrapping an arm around his waist. They walked in silence, Andi just needing time to calm down completely until her heart wasn’t racing beyond control.

“What happened there?” Cyrus asked eventually, turning to her. “I know panic attacks can really happen to anyone, but usually there’s a reason.”

Andi sighed, shaking her head. “I, I don’t know, it just. I can’t,” she muttered, shaking her head constantly. She stopped turning to look at Cyrus. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Andi, what are you talking about? You’re my best friend,” Cyrus started, but was cut short by Andi.

“No, I was your best friend!” Andi exclaimed loudly, and Cyrus flinched slightly. “And when we met today, I was horrible to you!”

“It’s okay, I really,” Cyrus tried to say something, but just then, the door next to them opened.

“Can you keep it down out here?!” the person groaned, and Andi was about to turn and bite back with a remark, but the intent died in her throat when she saw who it was.

“Amber?”

*

“What happened?” Buffy asked, after Amber ushered Andi and Cyrus into their room, Cyrus immediately plopping onto the floor. Andi sat down, perched awkwardly on the corner of Amber’s bed, Amber moving over to Buffy’s bed.

Cyrus shook his head, shrugging. “I was just going back to my room, and I found Andi on the floor outside a room, just breaking down. We were walking back from there.”

“Are you okay?” Amber asked, concerned as she looked over at Andi, who meekly nodded.

“I don’t know what was happening,” Andi said, her voice small. “My, my heart was beating so fast, I thought I was going to die. I, I think I,” she hesitated, looking over at Cyrus, who nodded encouragingly. “I think I had a panic attack.”

“Whoa,” Buffy said, eyes wide. “Why? I know they can happen for seemingly no reason, but you’ve never had one before. At least not when we were in school.”

Andi shook her head, scratching the inside of her thumb. “I just, I don’t know. It’s stupid, and I’m being pathetic.”

“Andi, if something happened that made you have a panic attack, it’s not stupid or pathetic, no matter what it is,” Cyrus said, his voice understanding.

Amber also smiled, grabbing her hand. “If you want to talk, you can talk to us. We’re here for you.”

Andi looked around at all of them, smiling at her, and she looked down, making up her mind. She looked up at the ceiling, squeezing her eyes shut before she began speaking.

“Cyrus, remember when you said you remembered someone with me when we met 4 years ago?” Andi asked quietly. Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows, nodding slowly. “You’re right. He was my boyfriend, John.”

“Why didn’t you say that?” Buffy asked, tilting her head slightly.

Andi sighed, looking at the two of them. “I, I don’t know,” she said, but then she shook her head. “Okay, that’s a lie. I do know why. And why I reacted the way I did. I’m sorry, but it’s just. It’s a lot.”

Amber squeezed her hand, smiling softly at Andi. Andi smiled back at her, placing her other hand over Amber’s, before taking a deep breath.

“We met in uni almost  5 years ago. He was in my Art History lecture, and he sat next to me second year onwards. Pretty soon, he asked me out and we began going out. You should have seen him. He was so charming, so funny, so charismatic. He was perfect in every way. And so, I fell in love with him, and he told me he loved me too. And those two years were the best years of my life.”

“That’s when I met you guys,” Cyrus said, and Andi nodded slowly, gulping.

“Actually, that night was the last night it was like that,” she said quietly, before sucking in a breath. The memories were flooding back, and Andi squeezed her eyes shut, digging her fingernails into her palm to not lose herself in them. They were painful as it is. 

Amber, Buffy and Cyrus were looking at her intently, Amber holding her hand, Buffy leaning forward, hands on both sides of her, and Cyrus looking at her from where he sat on the ground. Andi coughed slightly, clearing her throat before she continued.

“My friends from uni were going for a movie marathon, and I wanted to go. So I asked John if he wanted to come along. But he said no, that I should go and he’d be home. I tried to convince him, but he smiled his smile, insisting that I go without him. So, I took him for his word and went, and I had the time of my life. But I should have known something was up. I should have seen that his smile wasn’t reaching his eyes. But I was naïve, because I thought he meant what he had said.”

Amber drew a shaky breath, tightening her grip on Andi’s hand as she sensed where the story was heading. Buffy leaned back slightly, and Cyrus shut his eyes, sighing slightly.

“I came back that night, laughing with my friend, who came to drop me to my door. He and I were laughing about something when John opened the door, looking between me and him, that same smile from before on his face. I said goodbye to my friend and walked into the apartment we were living in together, gushing about the movie. I was so fucking blind,” Andi said, shaking her head, bringing up her hand to hastily wipe away a stray tear. “And then suddenly, he just asks me where I had been in this really quiet voice, I had never heard him use it before. I told him that I went out for dinner after the movie cuz we were starving, but something about his voice made the hairs on my neck stand. But then he walked up to me and grabbed my wrist, just, just yanking it forward. And he continued to talk in that really quiet voice, saying things like, I didn’t need so many friends because he was enough. I didn’t need anyone else. And that I shouldn’t need to leave him in the house that much, that we would be okay just the two of us. But, of course, I couldn’t get the fucking hint, so I told him that it was insane, and he just,” Andi’s voice broke, a sob escaping her.

“Andi,” Amber said softly, wrapping an arm around her. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to.”

“No, no,” Andi said, drawing a breath. “I have to.” She shut her eyes, composing herself before she went on.

“He snapped at me, grabbing my wrist so tight I was surprised there weren’t any bruises on it. He just yelled at me, calling me ungrateful for the love he gave me, for everything he did for me. He yelled at me that I was unappreciative and all sorts of other things. And then he went to the bedroom and slammed the door, leaving me out there alone to deal with everything that had just happened. The next day, he iced me out, ignoring me, practically pretending that I didn’t exist. And soon, I, I just couldn’t handle it. So I apologised and I begged, begged him to forgive me, and eventually he did. After we agreed on a set of rules for our relationship, and it made him happy. So we went to bed, and he opened up to me, saying he was doing this for my protection and he cared. And after he fell asleep, I went into the bathroom and cried my heart out,” Andi said with a sigh, and Buffy moved from her bed to sit next to Andi, resting her head on her shoulder. Cyrus also moved forward, grabbing Andi’s knee comfortingly.

Andi gave a small smile, hiccupping slightly. “That’s what my life became. If I did something wrong, he’d yell at me, then ice me out for a day until I came begging for forgiveness. Then he’d make me repeat our rules, and then we’d go to bed, where he went back to being kind and sweet. And then I’d go to the bathroom and cry.”

“Andi, I’m so sorry,” Buffy said, looking up at her.

“I feel awful for bringing him up now,” Cyrus said sadly, and Andi shook her head.

“You didn’t know, Cy. No one does, except for Bex.”

“How did it end?” Amber asked, looking at Andi. “Please tell me you told you mom and she helped you dump his ass.”

Andi laughed sadly, shaking her head. “I wish I could tell you that, that one day I found strength to tell my mom and leave him, that I walked away powerful. But I can’t. Truth is, he broke up with me 2 years ago, saying that I was no longer ‘exciting’ enough for him.”

“What a dickhead,” Buffy muttered, and Amber nodded.

“So instead of feeling glad he was out of my life, I was on the floor broken,” Andi said, sighing. “God, I’m pathetic.”

“Andi, you’re anything but,” Cyrus said. “You are so strong, and I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone.”

Andi smiled, grabbing and squeezing Cyrus’ hand. “It feels good having gotten it out.”

“But I still don’t get what that has to do with today?” Buffy asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Andi said. She pulled out her phone and opened the messages, handing the phone to Amber. “Somehow, he found me again. Even though I took every precaution.”

Amber scanned through the messages, eyes wide as she handed Buffy and Cyrus the phone. “The son of a bitch better hope he hasn’t geotagged any pictures cuz I’m coming for his ass,” Amber said, getting up but Andi held her back, pushing her back onto the bed.

“It’s okay Amber,” Andi said sadly, taking back her phone. “It just sucks that he still has a hold on me.”

“He doesn’t,” Buffy said. “You are strong, Andi Mack, and that bastard will have nothing to do with you.”

With that, Buffy took her phone and went to John’s profiles, blocking him, and action that caused Andi to sigh of relief.

“Oh thank you! I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do that alone.”

The three of them looked at each other with a smirk before unanimously going, “Just another service we provide.”

Andi laughed, but soon, it morphed into a grateful smile as she pulled the three of them into a hug.

“I am so lucky to have you in my life,” she whispered, and all four of them smile into the group hug, the occasional street car passing by in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know another update what???
> 
> I want to say, if you think you are in a relationship like the one Andi described, please talk to someone.  
> My tumblr @green-lemonboys will have resources linked in the reblog for the chapter


	8. Realisations

Buffy made the executive decision to order pizza for room service to bring down the emotional intensity of the room, a choice that was greatly celebrated by everyone. Amber had her arm permanently wrapped around Andi’s shoulder, holding her tight as Andi rested her head on her shoulder. Cyrus was still on the ground, but he had scooted closer to listen to Amber regaling tales of hilarious things that she had experienced as manager of a restaurant, intermittent laughter filling the room.

“I can’t believe he actually said that to you!” Andi exclaimed, and Amber laughed as Buffy shook her head in disbelief.

“I know. It’s obvious he had never met you because anyone who has knows not to mess with you,” Cyrus said teasingly, earning a shove in the shoulder.

“It’s just something you gotta deal with,” Amber said, shrugging. Andi smiled at her as she continued to rest her head on her shoulder.

“Not gonna lie Buffy,” Andi said, holding out her pizza slice. “But this was your best idea in all of history.”

“Even better than dipping baby taters in chocolate milkshake?” she asked with a laugh, and Cyrus’ eyes went wide.

“Oh hey now, let’s not get crazy,” Amber said, causing the four of them to burst out laughing loudly, probably annoying all the neighbouring rooms.

“Not to bring back an old topic,” Cyrus started after all the laughter died down, causing all of them to turn to him. “But one thing doesn’t make much sense.”

“What is it, Cy?” Buffy asked.

“Well, I found Andi sitting near a room door. Was it your room?”

Andi shook her head, lifting her head slightly. “No, it wasn’t. Mine is 321.”

“Then what were you doing there?” Cyrus asked, narrowing his eyes curiously.

Andi’s eyes widened slightly, but not so much that anyone immediately noticed. _What could she say? If she told them the truth, who knew who would look worse: her or Jonah? No, they didn’t need to know. It would die with her._

“Uh, I was just walking out for some fresh air,” Andi lied nonchalantly, resting her head again. Cyrus nodded, clearly satisfied as he swiftly brought up another topic, one he and Buffy immediately engaged in. But Andi cut in between. “What were you doing up though, Cy?”

“Oh, uh,” Cyrus muttered, looking down. “You know, air, stargazing, I mean, just outside.”

All he got in response was the three girls staring at him, unimpressed by his terrible attempts at lying. _Wow he could lie to a guy with ease about how he had a family engagement but he couldn’t lie to those three._

“Wow, I’m getting serious scary bi, pan, lesbian energy from the room,” Cyrus said, causing Amber to giggle slightly, breaking her stare. Buffy just raised an eyebrow.

“Just tell us the truth Cyrus,” she said, and Andi nodded, pursing her lips, and Cyrus just sighed in defeat.

“Okay, I really did go out to get some air, but then I saw someone head out to garden. And it turned out to be TJ.”

“Kippen?” Andi said, and Amber sat up, looking intensely at Cyrus.

“You spoke to him?” she asked, her voice quiet, and Cyrus nodded.

“For the second time today. Gotta say, second conversation more pleasant than the first,” he said, laughing to himself.

“How was it?” Buffy asked quietly, and Cyrus took a minute to think about it.

“Honestly, it felt good seeing him again. Things always felt incomplete before, and I finally got to actually say sorry to him,” Cyrus said, surprised at how true what he was saying was.

“Sorry for what?” Andi asked, and Cyrus looked up at her, lifting a shoulder.

“For being the one to not respond, that led to everything.”

Buffy nodded, and Andi leaned back slightly. But Amber was still looking at him curiously. “How was he?”

Cyrus furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Amber. “He was okay, I guess. His ex was texting him while we sat on the porch-swing thing. But anyway, it’s done now. We said everything that needed to be said, and we actually said goodbye, and I left. Last I remember, he said he wanted to sit for some more time. Things are finally over, and we’ll probably never see each other again, so there’s that.” After saying all that, Cyrus took a deep breath, the last part feeling much heavier than he thought it would, the finality dawning on him.

“Did you?” Amber asked softly, and Cyrus stared at her in confusion.

“Did I what?”

“Say everything that needed to be said.”

Cyrus narrowed his eyes, looking down at his hands. “Y-Yes, I did. I just said I did.”

“So you are finally gonna move on?” Buffy spoke up, looking at Cyrus curiously.

“That’s, that’s what’s obvious, isn’t it? I get closure, this ends and we both can move on,” Cyrus said, trying more to convince himself than to try and convince any of the girls. “That’s what needs to happen, so it ends.”

“You said that already,” Andi said quietly, and Cyrus whipped his head around.

“So then why doesn’t it feel like it?” he said loudly, causing Andi to flinch away, and Amber to tighten her grip around her shoulders. “Sorry, I, I didn’t mean to yell Andi.”

“It’s okay, Cy. It didn’t do anything, just surprised me is all,” Andi said sincerely, grabbing his hand. “What do you mean that it doesn’t feel like it?”

Cyrus sighed, leaning against the wall. “As I was walking away from him, I just couldn’t help but think about how it didn’t feel like an ending, even though we’ve said goodbye twice now. Maybe I’m just never gonna move on from TJ Kippen,” he muttered, and Amber sighed.

“Things haven’t ended Cy,” she said quietly, and he scoffed, looking up at her.

“And how is that?” he said sadly.

“Because you haven’t said everything,” she replied, smirking. “And I don’t think my brother has either.”

Cyrus sat up, letting Amber’s words sink in. Things were silent as all three girls stared at him making up his mind. Finally, Cyrus smiled to himself, pushing himself off the ground.

“What’s TJ’s room number, Amber?” Cyrus asked quickly, moving to the table to get his coat.

“457. Why?” she asked, her tone amused as she saw Cyrus run to the door, turning back.

“I figured out the ending.”

*

“Well, if nothing, that was a dramatic exit,” Andi said after Cyrus ran out of the room, earning a round of laughter from Buffy and Amber. She sighed, moving to get up from the bed. “Anyway, I should probably go back to my room and actually get some sleep.”

“Wait, what? No,” Buffy said, grabbing her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be alone after what happened.”

“Buffy, I swear I’m fine now,” Andi said, looking at her reassuringly, but Buffy shook her head, pushing herself off the bed.

“No, I won’t have it. You can stay here with Amber, I’ll go to your room.”

“Are you sure, Buff?” Amber asked, knitting her eyebrows together. “What about your luggage?”

“I’ll just carry my backpack, it has the stuff I need in the morning,” Buffy said, shouldering the bag and slipping on her shoes.

“Buffy, really, it’s okay,” Andi said, still protesting, but she knew it was a losing battle. Still, she pulled out the last card. “I don’t have anything to wear tomorrow.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you can forego your biker aesthetic and just borrow Amber’s clothes, Mack,” Buffy said with a smirk as she rolled her eyes. She walked to the door and turned around, smiling at the two before walking out the door.

“Huh,” was all Andi said as the door closed behind her.

“Huh indeed,” Amber agreed, looking over to smile at her. “Well, looks like its just us now.”

“Yeah it is,” Andi said, turning to look at Amber. “What’s been up with you? Hope your life has been better than mine.”

Amber let out a short laugh, lying back on the bed, Andi joining beside her. “Only marginally. I don’t have much luck in the love department either. I just got out of a breakup.”

“Oh no Amber, are you okay?” she asked softly, turning over onto her side to look at her. Amber did the same, looking over at Andi warmly.

“Yeah, I am. I mean, it sucks, because I did really like her. But in the end, she broke my heart. So I wasn’t gonna care.”

Andi nodded, bumping her head against Amber’s, making the other girl blush. “Good for you. What was her name?”

Amber sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Emily.”

“It’s a pretty name,” Andi said quietly, and Amber nodded. “What was she like?”

“Kind, sweet, bubbly, of course. Creative, really creative.”

“Oh really? How so?”

“Like, she was really good at crafts. Of any kind really.”

Andi sucked in a breath, feeling her heart rate pick up. “Oh?” she said quietly, hoping Amber didn’t find anything amiss.

Luckily, Amber didn’t pay attention to it. “She was amazing. But, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“That’s a shame,” Andi said, regaining her composure. “You’re so amazing Amber.”

“Thank you Bambi,” Amber said softly, reaching over to squeeze Andi’s hand.

Andi giggled slightly. “You haven’t called me that in forever.”

Amber just smiled at her, letting go of her hand. “Just felt right.”

They lay like that for a few moments, the only sounds being a car every few minutes, and their breathing. Eventually, Amber sighed, pushing herself up from the bed.

“We should probably sleep, flight and everything,” she said, and Andi nodded, surprised at how disappointed she felt when Amber moved over to the other bed. But she shook her head, borrowing Amber’s brush to brush through her hair, before she settled into bed, pulling the duvet up to her chin as she sank into the bed, surprised at the exhaustion haunting her.

Amber tied up her hair and crawled into bed, facing Andi as she lay down, pulling the duvet onto her. “Goodnight, Bambi.”

“Goodnight, Snorpion,” Andi said quietly, earning a soft giggle from Amber.

“Can’t believe you called me that,” she said, before reaching out and switching off the light.

Andi tried to shut her eyes, but try as she could, she couldn’t pull her eyes from the outline of Amber’s sleeping figure. _What was happening?_

No, she knew what was happening.

_She couldn’t stop thinking about how Amber’s ex sounded so familiar. Andi how she felt her heart drop when Amber went to her own bed._

Andi just shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. _She couldn’t deal with the unaddressed feelings she carried for Amber Kippen, not when they wouldn’t see each other ever again after that night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so much shorter im sorry next time will be longer


	9. The Push

Buffy opened the room door and collapsed into bed, silently glad that she had her own room, even if the circumstances by which she got it were confusing and unbelievable. A part of her still couldn’t really believe what had just happened, but happen it had, and in the end, Buffy was glad that it was her, Andi, and Cyrus, with the added company of Amber, just sitting in the room, laughing and being like they used to be. Maybe they hadn’t lost their touch with each other.

But everything that had happened, the stories they had shared, the realisations that had come about, for some reason they swirled around Buffy’s head as questions.

_What would happen with Cyrus and TJ? Would Andi and Amber actually tell each other how they used to feel? Do they still feel the same way? Did any of their feelings ever fade? Was that even healthy? Did that mean they never moved on? Did that mean **she** had never moved on from Marty? How did Marty feel when she told him she loved him? Did Marty even feel the same or did he just say so because it was something familiar?_

This wasn’t like her at all, to question her every thought, to look back on her life and doubt everything. But, honestly, the confidence Buffy had in high school had shattered with all the things that went wrong in college. So, she had faked it all the while since then, some bursts still coming through but any real layer of it being long gone.

Before she could even think about what she was doing, Buffy had opened her phone and had shakily pressed ‘Call’, lifting the phone to her ear.

“Buffy?” Marty mumbled sleepily, no doubt rubbing his eyes as he answered Buffy’s call. “Jesus Christ, it’s 5 am here, why are you still up?”

“How did you know?” is all she asked, her voice hinging on desperate.

“How did I, uh wait what? How did I what? Buffy, what is going on? Is everything okay?” Marty asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.

“How did you know, when we met in Shadyside, that you loved me?” she mumbled, collapsing onto her bed. “Did you just say it when I did because it was something familiar and safe? Did you realise you had never moved on? Did you never mean it in the first place?”

“Buffy, where is all this coming from?” Marty asked softly, his tone almost comforting. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just, things have been kinda crazy here, you know?” Buffy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “That, and the lack of sleep is really getting to me in a way it never has before.”

“Well, does this have anything to do with, you know, Andi and Cyrus?”

“Yeah, but, not in the way you’d think. We actually figured stuff out but, ugh it’s just, things they were saying about how their lives were and are and what they wanna do and other stuff, it’s just messing with my head.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Buffy sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Well, Cyrus was talking about how he met TJ here, and how even though he had said now said goodbye to him, it didn’t feel like things had ended. Like he hadn’t moved on from him. And last I remember seeing him, he was running out the door to find him. Andi told us somethings which, I’m not gonna repeat for her sake,” she mumbled, and Marty hummed in understanding. “But it was obvious when looking between her and Amber that there were some unresolved feelings there. And it just got me thinking, like we left high school to find new people and to see things. But now, here we are, I’m engaged to you, Cyrus is running after TJ, and Andi and Amber are oblivious. And I don’t know, the sleeplessness just made me spiral and here I am on the phone with you, asking stupid questions!” Buffy said, her voice rising with every word of her last sentence.

“Buffy,” Marty said quietly, shushing her slightly. “Yes, they are stupid questions.”

“Gee thanks for that,” Buffy scoffed, and Marty groaned.

“Just let me finish, Driscoll!” he whined, and Buffy rolled her eyes, grunting in compliance.

“Yes, they are stupid questions,” Marty started again, his voice snarky. But it softened as he went on. “But it’s causing you so much stress and stuff. So, I’ll answer all your questions. If you could explain what they even were cuz I was more focused on your incoherent mumbling.”

Buffy took a deep breath, trying to sort out her thoughts before she spoke again. “We broke up in high school. And we both went to college, and dated other people, maybe even fell in love, and it was nice, but things never really worked out. Then, a couple years ago, I run into you in the Spoon back in Shadyside, and it was weird. Because there was the weird ‘high school reunion’ air, but at the same time, it felt just like old times. You and I were both there for a while, just figuring things out, so we hung out, just like old times.”

“Well, not just like old times. We got kicked off the basketball court by those kids for being ‘too old’ if you remember,” Marty said with a laugh, and Buffy knew that if he were in front of her she would’ve shoved him in the shoulder.

“Okay whatever, you know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “And then one day, we were just having lunch, and I looked over at you and said ‘I love you’. Just like that.” As Buffy said that, she felt her voice crack, and her eyes grew moist. _Why was she near tears? This wasn’t even that emotional._ “I don’t know where it came from or why, but I said it. And as soon as I did, I knew I meant it.”

“What are you saying, Buffy?” Marty asked softly, and Buffy almost cradled the phone, squeezing her eyes shut.

“How did you know if you were meaning it when you said it back two seconds later?” she asked quietly, knowing that she probably sounded all levels of insecure and nervous, but she just needed Marty to answer.

“Well, it’s like you Buffy,” Marty said simply. “I just knew.”

“So what?” she scoffed, looking up. “Did we just never move on from each other? Did we just go through our lives with those feelings? Isn’t that scary and like, weird?”

“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Marty said, and Buffy narrowed her eyes.

“What, what do you mean? What else could it be?”

“Buffy, think about it. After we broke up, we both went on to have other serious relationships, we fell in love. Does that sound like people who haven’t moved on?”

“You never know,” Buffy muttered. “But I know I did.”

“And I did too,” Marty concurred, as he sighed down the line. “But it’s also true that you never forget your first love.”

Buffy had to resist laughing out loud. “So you’re saying I was your first love?”

She expected a snarky reply, but Marty sighed quietly. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

Buffy laughed softly, looking down as Marty continued.

“So, when I met you, yes, I did get that nervous jitter you have around an ex. But you were my friend, and we hung out like that. As friends.”

Wait, I’m confused, what are you trying to say Marty?” Buffy asked, puzzled.

“Buffy, you asked me how I knew I loved you. And I just knew I did. Because when I met you, and when I hung out with you, I remembered how good things were. And I fell in love with you all over again. My feelings that I had in the past may have pushed things along, but in the end, we had to go through the whole process again,” Marty said, with no doubt a small smile on his face, Buffy thought.

Buffy smiled, laughing slightly, as she wiped away a stray tear. “Wow, who knew you could be so wise, Martholomew?”

Marty groaned down the phone, sending Buffy in splits. “Gee thanks, I was trying to be genuine and you ruin it.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Buffy wheezed, clutching her stomach as she heard Marty laugh on the other side of the line. It took a while for them to finally quiet down, and Buffy had a pleasant smile on her face as she lay back down on the bed.

“So, if two people are right for each other, but moved on. If they meet again later down the line, could they figure out a way for things to actually work between them?”

“Yeah,” Marty said confidently.

“They just need the push to find each other again.”

*

After his initial mad dash down the hall, Cyrus became aware of the fact that he really had no idea where he was going, or where TJ even was, or what he was going to tell him.

_God, telling a one-liner and leaving the room was a lot cooler than acting on what he was saying._

Cyrus decided eventually to walk in the general direction of the garden, hoping against hope that TJ would be there, or at least making his way back from there, and he would figure out the rest of what he wanted to say when he saw him. _Flawless plan. Truly._

Cyrus hugged his hoodie around himself tighter, feeling the chill more than expected, a lot of it probably being nerves. He kept his head lowered, but his eyes were moving around, trying to spot any movement in the dimly lit corridors of the hotel. _Really wasn’t a great hotel if the lights were so low._

A shift in shadows caught Cyrus’ eye, and he looked up to see a tall figure, hands in pocket, wearing a hoodie walking from the area of the garden.

_Oh fuck._

Steeling his nerves, Cyrus walked up quickly, pushing away all his nervous thoughts and just trusting himself to find the right thing to say as he walked up to TJ, but he ended up walking so fast, he misjudged how much time it would take for him to reach the other. As soon as Cyrus was right in front of him, Cyrus just took a deep breath and blurted out the first thing he thought of.

“We didn’t have an ending.”

TJ looked up startled at the sound of someone else’s voice, peering through the darkness as he tried to make out his face. “Wha- Cyrus? What are you still doing up? What are you saying?”

 _Huh good question. What was he saying._ Cyrus wracked his brain, trying to find something to reason out his weird statement, as TJ stared at him in confusion, hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets. Eventually, Cyrus just sighed, remembering what Amber was telling him.

“Ever since high school, I’ve tried going on dates, and being with other people. But, I would be lucky if I was able to make someone stay for more than a week,” he said, moving his hands as he spoke. “And I didn’t get why. Because, I had to have left you in my past, right?”

Cyrus scoffed, looking down at his shoes. “But then, I see you here, and it all just comes back. High school us, the whole fucking shebang. And every time we have spoken today, I have been the first to leave, to walk away, to say goodbye, to convince myself that now, I have closure, now I have said goodbye. So that should be the end.”

TJ just looked at Cyrus, eyebrows knitted together, his expression unreadable as his eyes looked Cyrus up and down as he spoke. Cyrus shook his head looking away as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“But it wasn’t, cuz it never felt like it. Until I realised, I had to tell you. I had to tell you, look you in the eye and tell you,” Cyrus paused, finally looking TJ square in the eye. “That, I don’t think I moved on from you, TJ Kippen. At least, not completely. Because, no matter how much I tried to convince myself, I was hoping you and I would end up back together. That by some crazy fucking miracle we’d find each other again. That things would work out.”

Cyrus drew a ragged breath as he was done speaking., looking at TJ who was just staring back at him with an expression that was sending Cyrus for a loop. But he said nothing, just stared.

 _Oh well, at least you said something._ Cyrus sighed, stepping back as he shrugged. “I just needed to tell you, to let you know. Maybe now I’ll move on.”

Cyrus turned around ready to walk away, when he felt someone grab his elbow.

“You asked me something when we were in the garden.”

Cyrus looked back, moving back to where TJ was. “I did?”

Nodding, TJ started again after drawing a shaky breath. “You asked me why Gabriel let me go. Why he broke up with me.”

“I think I said it like a joke,” Cyrus said as he narrowed his eyes, causing TJ to laugh quietly.

“Yeah, I know, but, I wanna tell you,” TJ mumbled, and he sputtered. “Actually, I, I have to tell you.”

“Oh, okay,” Cyrus said, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pockets.

TJ sighed, looking at Cyrus. “He had been getting more and more frustrated, and I just didn’t understand why. Until one day, he sat me down and said he was breaking up with me. And I was just there, asking and asking, over and over, ‘what did I do’, ‘what did I do’ but all he did was look at me with these tired eyes. And say that he couldn’t be with someone who was ‘waiting on a ghost’.”

“The fuck?” Cyrus mumbled, and TJ just shrugged. “What does that even mean?”

Shaking his head, he looked at his shoes. “I had no idea, and I yelled that it was a pretty shitty excuse, which it was. But, even I knew I was just yelling to seem like how the scene should be played out. I was surprised at how easy it was for me to move on from Gabriel, as if he weren’t the serious relationship he was. But, his words stayed with me all this time.”

Cyrus looked up at TJ. “What did he even mean?”

“I didn’t know,” TJ said quietly, suddenly stepping forward toward Cyrus. “Until today.”

Cyrus sucked in a breath at the sudden movement, aware of the way TJ was getting closer. “What?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know what he meant by ‘waiting on a ghost’, until I walked into that buffet hall there,” TJ said, pointing in the direction of the dining hall. “And I saw you sitting there. That’s when I got it. That’s when it hit me. You were my ghost.”

Cyrus took in a shaky breath, removing his hands from his hoodie pockets, looking down at TJ’s hands, that were moving towards his.

“Cy,” TJ whispered, taking both of his hands in his own. “All the while I was with Gabriel, even though I liked him, deep down, I knew a part of me wanted to find you again. A part of me hoped against hope you’d swing back into my life,” he said, and Cyrus let out a short laugh, tears brimming in his eyes. “And we would find each other again.”

Cyrus smiled, looking down at their hands, taking a step toward TJ. TJ let out a breath, looking at Cyrus softly. He let go of one of Cyrus’ hands to reach up, stroking Cyrus’ cheek.

“I don’t think I moved on from you either, Cyrus Goodman.”

Cyrus laughed, TJ soon following him, both of them just in their world. TJ moved his hand to cup Cyrus’ cheek, and ever so slightly, Cyrus and TJ began leaning in, their faces inching closer. TJ’s eyes fluttered shut, and Cyrus almost let himself give in, but just before he could succumb, he stopped himself, pulling away and resting a hand on TJ’s chest.

“This isn’t a good idea,” he whispered, and TJ lifted his chin so that he was facing him.

“What do you mean Cyrus?” he asked nervously, and Cyrus backed away more, trying to ignore the disappointment in TJ’s eyes.

“We are both in different places,” Cyrus said sadly. “I’m probably gonna do my PhD, but even if I don’t, I need to focus on the films I make on YouTube. And we don’t even know if we live in the same place!”

“We’ll figure it out!” TJ exclaimed, voice hinging on desperate, reaching forward to hold Cyrus. “We can work it out. And we can figure out living, and everything. We aren’t that young anymore. We can figure it out.”

Cyrus took a deep breath, looking up at TJ as he shrugged unsurely. “What if you’re mistaken and you actually don’t feel the same?”

TJ sighed, walking up to Cyrus, cupping his cheeks as he rested his forehead against his.

“That’s impossible Underdog,” he whispered, and the old nickname made Cyrus’ heart melt, the memories flooding back as he let the tears fall. He wrapped his arms around TJ’s waist, leaning against him. Finally, after the silence, Cyrus nodded, looking up at TJ.

“We’ll figure it out.”

That was all TJ needed, laughing slightly as he leaned in, capturing Cyrus’ lips in his own, immediately losing himself in the feeling. Cyrus sighed into the kiss, the thought of how much _he had missed this feeling_ sinking into his bones, as he tightened his grip on TJ’s waist, pulling him closer. TJ did the same, wrapping his arms around Cyrus’ neck, kissing him with all the emotion they had to make up for with all the years that had passed.

It felt like an eternity later when they finally pulled away for air, both laughing slightly as they caught their breath. TJ laughed slightly, pressing a kiss to Cyrus’ forehead as Cyrus sighed.

“I had almost forgotten what that felt like,” Cyrus sighed, and TJ laughed, and they leaned in for another kiss, this one much slower, and less desperate than the last one.

_Yeah. They would figure it out._

*

Andi turned over on her side again, pulling the duvet around her. But try as she could, sleep evaded her as it did. Even though she was dead exhausted, and the alcohol had worn off, leaving the headache and pain of the impending hangover. She groaned, turning to look from the side, her eyes landing on Amber’s bed. Andi tried to peer through the dark, trying to figure out if she was asleep or, like her, awake. It was hard to make out, but a sudden move and stifled groan was enough proof for Andi.

_Yup. Awake._

Andi sighed to herself, knowing what she was about to do was not at all a good idea, but she decided to go with it. So she pushed off the duvet cover, and quietly padded over to Amber’s bed. As slowly as she could, she tapped her on the shoulder.

“Amber?”

Almost immediately, Amber rolled over, her eyes tired and sleepy, but still indicative of the fact that she was wide awake. “Hey. Can’t sleep either.”

Andi just shook her head, balancing from foot to foot. Amber looked her over, until she cleared her throat slightly.

“Do, uh, do you wanna, sleep in my bed, with me?”

“You don’t mind?”

“Nope,” Amber reassured, so Andi smiled and climbed into the bed on the other side, and she pulled the duvet cover around the two of them. Andi lay on her side, wrapping her arms around herself. She could feel Amber hesitating to move behind her, but soon, she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her close, and she swore, in that moment, her heart stopped beating.

_She and Amber were cuddling._

Andi tried to keep her breathing and heart ate under control, but it was proving to be impossible, when _Amber fucking Kippen_ was holding her as she slept. But soon, the cuddling worked its absurd magic and she felt herself get dragged into sleep. She would’ve let herself succumb too, until a question that had been on her mind since that night popped back in to wake her up.

“Amber?” Andi whispered softly, gulping nervously.

“Hm?” Amber hummed, her eyes still closed.

“When, you were describing Emily,” she started, squeezing her eyes shut. “She seemed really familiar.”

There were a few moments of silence after Andi had spoken, and she was starting to get worried about having said the wrong thing, when Amber let out a small, emotionless laugh. “I guess I have a type, huh.”

As much as it pained her to remove herself from her position, Andi turned around to face Amber, resting on her hand. “You never said anything back in school.”

“How could I say anything?” Amber said, her voice breaking. “You would’ve hated me if I told you.”

“I would never hate you, especially for something like this,” Andi said quietly, wanting to make sure Amber knew she meant what she was saying. “If you told me back then I just, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Wouldn’t have believed what?”

“Wouldn’t have believed the girl I liked, liked me back.”

Amber sucked in a sharp breath. “You- you liked me?”

“I thought it was obvious,” Andi said with a giggle.

The two of them giggled for a while quietly, basking in the knowledge. But soon, Amber looked up at Andi.

“But that was just a crush all those years ago.”

“True,” Andi said simply.

“So, how would we know if anything would work now?”

She just shrugged. “We don’t. But we can try, or we can take it slow and see where this goes.”

“But is this something you really want?” Amber asked, her voice unsure.

Andi reached forward, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Amber, I walked into this hotel today just wanting to get out and go where I needed to go. But then, everything happened. And a lot of it was bad. But you know the good part of today is what I’ll remember. And you’re at the centre of it all.”

Amber smiled, ducking slightly to hide her face. “Well, it was nice seeing you again too.”

Andi smiled warmly. Amber looked at her and bit her lip slightly, as if she were thinking.

“You know,” she started, and Andi looked over at her. “Even though you and Emily sound so similar, you really weren’t. Emily was nice, but she was controlled in things. You, were open and kind and fun out loud, and you lit up every place you were.”

Andi smiled, now being her turn to duck from Amber’s gaze. They were silent for a few more moments before Amber looked over at Andi unsurely.

“So how do we know we should try and work this out?” Amber said quietly, looking at Andi nervously. Andi just smiled and grabbed Amber’s hand, squeezing it.

“We already know that we should try.”

“And how is that?” Amber said, wrapping her arm around Andi’s shoulder, pulling her to her chest as she rested her head on hers, settling back against the pillow.

Andi sighed, wrapping her arms around Amber’s waist. “We just needed the push to each other.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we have it folks, the holy trinity. there’ll probably be one more chapter!


	10. Finally Okay

“Okay, ready?” Amber asked, and Andi nodded, smiling wide as she opened her mouth. Amber threw the grape at her face, aiming for her open mouth, but unfortunately, it was way off, nailing Andi in the head instead. Amber snorted, covering her mouth as she laughed loudly, Andi glaring at her from across the table.

“That is absolutely not funny, my lawyer will be in contact,” Andi said in a deadpanned voice. But anyone could see that she was moments away from bursting in laughter. Amber smirked, raising her hands.

“Let’s do it baby, I know the law,” she said, and Andi broke, laughing loudly, scrunching her nose. Amber laughed too, looking at her as she shook her head fondly.

If anyone were to look at the girls sitting at the table, laughing and smiling, no one would’ve looked at Andi and placed her as the bitchy biker-looking girl who snapped at anyone and everything. That girl, who Andi had been mere hours ago. She was still present, hidden behind the wary stares she gave passers-by every now and then, whenever they reminded her of a certain someone. But, with Amber, that girl wasn’t needed.

“We haven’t talked about it, by the way,” Andi said sadly, looking down at her food for a moment. Amber dabbed a napkin on her mouth.

“About what?”

“About what this is,” Andi said, gesturing between them. Amber looked away, sighing as she set down her fork.

“Andi,” she started, but she cut her off.

“I don’t know how to feel Amber,” Andi said, and Amber quietly listened. “I’m still unsure about being in a relationship. Even though I know you’re nothing like, you know,” she muttered. “Part of me still thinks I’m a fucked up, loveless person who should just steer away from this stuff. But you sitting right in front of me, another part of me wants nothing more than to try and make it work with you. Because if I had to think of anyone I could picture myself staying with, you’re pretty up there.”

Amber smiled, reaching over to grab Andi’s hand. “Andi, I know that you already are aware of this. But you’re not loveless, not by a long shot. You are so full of love, it amazes me.” Andi smiled sadly, letting out a short laugh as Amber continued. “As for fucked up, all of us are. Not one person you’ve met isn’t shattered at all times. But that’s just life. And there’s nothing I want more than to make you and me work out.”

Andi smiled at Amber gingerly, but anyone could see the shattered glass behind her eyes. Amber too. So she smiled, sighed and squeezed her hand.

“We don’t have to be anything right now if you want,” she said softly. “We can go as slow as you want. And we don’t even have to be on that page right now. We can just be friends, but friends who happen to really like each other and find each other beautiful.”

Andi looked down, a small smile on her face as she let out a watery laugh, sniffing as she intertwined her fingers with Amber’s. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Amber said surely, letting go of her hand, turning to her breakfast. She sighed to herself, aware of the twinge of disappointment in her heart at what she told Andi. But, she chided herself, reminding herself that _Andi had been through something traumatic. Something like that isn’t just forgotten when two people agree they like each other. And to be honest, she would follow Andi to the end of the earth now that she had somehow managed to find her again._

And seeing Andi scarf down food, and look up in shame, whipped cream on her nose and syrup on the corners of her mouth, Amber laughed and shook her head, picking up her napkin to wipe away the syrup and leaned forward to use her finger to wipe away the whipped cream, booping Andi’s nose in the process, and she thought to herself with a smile.

_Amber Kippen was just lucky to have Andi Mack feel the same way as her. And she would help her and support her and love her forever._

*

The sun filtered in through the curtains, and Cyrus winced slightly, turning away from the window to lie on his side, his legs hitting someone else’s.

“Ow,” TJ whispered, eyes still shut, and Cyrus opened his eyes slightly, just to catch his smirk, kicking his legs in revenge.

“Double ow,” TJ said, opening his eyes properly as he reached out to smack Cyrus’ head. Cyrus gasped, offended, and proceeded to ruffle up TJ’s already messy hair, causing strands to stick up like devil horns.

“Now you represent your true self,” he whispered, and TJ stuck his tongue out at Cyrus, flattening out his hair and resting his head on the pillow, a hand outstretched to run his fingers through Cyrus’ hair. In everything that happened, it felt like they were still the same boys from high school, and they were just picking up where they left off. But they also weren’t, because as they had spent the night talking and cuddling, and just pouring their hearts out, their relationship had a layer of maturity that had not been there 6 years ago, obviously.

“Hey,” TJ whispered, smiling softly as Cyrus hid his head in the pillow, only peeking out at him.

“Hi,” he whispered back, so softly that it was a surprise that TJ heard him. But he did, and he let out a small sigh, caressing his cheek with the tips of his fingers. “What are you thinking?” he asked, looking at TJ who had a faraway look in his eyes.

He just shrugged, reaching down to intertwine his fingers with Cyrus’. “I just can’t believe this is real right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I spent the past 6 years convincing myself that it would never happen,” TJ whispered, his voice breaking. Cyrus sighed, lifting their hands to kiss TJ’s knuckles.

“Well, it is, so deal with it,” he replied, his voice growing snarky at the end, but TJ just laughed, shuffling forward so he could touch foreheads with Cyrus.

“As if that could ever be a bad thing,” he said, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Cyrus’ lips and _God,_ Cyrus thought to himself. _He never ever wanted to be anywhere other than TJ’s side. Metaphorically._

They were quiet for some time, TJ caressing Cyrus’ cheek and Cyrus looking up at TJ, thoughts running in his mind.

“We need to talk about the future though,” he finally said, and TJ nodded, moving back a bit to hear Cyrus. But he stopped. Because Cyrus was looking at him with a smile.

“Cyrus, if this is you saying you’re gonna drop everything to be with me, I will be the fist person to tell you to not do that and I’d rather we split ways here than you give up on your future,” TJ spoke quickly, but Cyrus shook his head firmly, placing his hand over TJ’s mouth to shut him up.

“No you dumbass, believe me, as much as I care for you, I wouldn’t do that,” he said, and TJ sighed in relief. But then, he narrowed his eyes and peered at Cyrus.

“Then what were you smiling about?”

Cyrus shrugged, moving to get up. “We don’t have to decide right now. Let’s go get breakfast with Andi, Amber and Buffy, and then when we sit next to each other on the flight back, we’ll figure it out.”

At that, TJ’s face broke into a huge grin, and he pushed himself up to hug Cyrus, kissing his cheek. And Cyrus laughed, dropping a kiss onto his shoulder, and finally pushed himself up off the bed, and dragged TJ to the dining hall, hands still intertwined.

*

Buffy made her way down to the dining hall, bag slung over her shoulder as she handed in her key and asked the reception to send someone to collect the luggage from the room. She hadn’t slept much after all, talking to Marty for hours after their random conversation about how they fell in love once again. The topic had devolved from such a serious topic to whether the Bee Movie was any god or not. But then again, that was exactly why she loved spending time with Marty, and why she fell in love with him.

She smiled to herself as she searched around the room, spotting Andi and Amber at the back, laughing. She made her way over, but halted in her path as she saw the two, laughing, giggling, smiling.

And holding hands.

She didn’t know what had happened after she retired to Andi’s room, but judging by the way the two of them were, she didn’t need much time to guess. And literally nothing could explain how beyond happy she was.

“Hey girls,” Buffy said, and Andi and Amber turned around, Andi getting up to give Buffy a warm hug.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked, and Buffy groaned.

“I didn’t,” she muttered, and Amber tutted disapprovingly. “I ended up calling Marty and talking to him for hours.”

Andi smirked, lifting a shoulder. “Ooh, you called Marty, so?”

Buffy laughed, shaking her head. “He’s my fiancé, and I miss him.”

“Valid,” Amber said, and Buffy and Andi sat down. Amber and Andi immediately went back to holding hands, but Andi was keeping her eyes down instead. Buffy made eye contact with her, smiling encouragingly, allowing a small smile to make its way back onto her face.

“It’s nothing for now,” Amber said quickly, looking down at her’s and Andi’s hands before looking back up at Buffy.

“Yeah, we’re still figuring it out,” Andi said, squeezing Amber’s hand.

Buffy nodded, a soft smile on her face. “Just know I’m here to support you.”

The three of them smiled and were about to resume their breakfast, when Amber looked up and immediately nudged Andi with her elbow.

“Oh my god finally,” she whispered, and Buffy turned around and let out a small laugh.

TJ and Cyrus walked into the hall, smiling and laughing. Holding hands, fingers interlocked. TJ had that same snarky look on his face, and Cyrus that kind, genuine smile that had been lost for a while. It was like they had been tossed in a wormhole through time back into high school, where they were themselves in the most innocent form.

“So,” Buffy smirked as Cyrus and TJ sat down, causing the two boys to blush profusely, Cyrus burying his head in TJ’s chest. The three girls laughed, Amber reaching forward to ruffle her brother’s hair, Andi playfully punching Cyrus in the shoulder.

Cyrus laughed, noticing Amber and Andi’s hands, raising an eyebrow. “So,” he said, smiling at them, as the two girls looked at each other, pink-tinged cheeks.

Andi shook her head, but her eyes caught someone walking in, and her smile dropped, and she turned to Amber, squeezing her hand.

“I’ll just be back,” she whispered, walking to the buffet table.

*

Jonah couldn’t remember much of what had happened in the night. He just remembered Andi in his room, the tension as they both leaned in, taken in by the atmosphere, his fiancé calling, and Andi yelling and storming out. And him. All alone.

He shook his head, thinking to himself, _what’s the point in thinking about it? He had just lost his best friend. Or ex-best friend? Didn’t matter. She was gone._

As he walked forward, someone grabbed his elbow, and he turned around, his breath hitching in his throat.

“Hey Jonah,” Andi said with a plain smile. There were dark circles around her eyes, and she was still slightly unsteady on her feet, but all in all, she looked well. Happy even.

“Hey Andi,” Jonah replied quietly, scratching the inside of his palm as he felt his heart rate pick up as he grew more nervous.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for last night,” she finally said after long moments of awkward silence.

Jonah tilted his head to the side, confused. “Why, why are you sorry? I’m the one who leaned in. I’m the engaged one!”

Andi laughed, shaking her head. “I guess it was just a mistake that we are lucky didn’t happen.”

Jonah let out a short laugh. “Yeah, totally not docious magocious.”

“Hey! You said it!” Andi called out, pointing. Jonah just shook his head amused.

“Anyway, I should get going,” Jonah said quickly, but Andi grabbed his arm stopping him.

“Wait,” she said, a small smile on her face as she pulled him ahead with her. “There are some people you’ll wanna meet.”

*

The six of them all sat together on the bus ride to the airport, separating only when having to board the flight, and even then, Cyrus and TJ managed to get seats together, Buffy and Andi with each other, and Amber and Jonah were made to shift after half an hour in the air because of ‘too loud laughter’.

TJ and Cyrus held hands, Cyrus’ head on TJ’s shoulder as they spoke honestly about them and their future, agreeing to make long distance work, eventually the two of them planning to move to New York together. Every few minutes, TJ would turn his head, pressing a kiss to Cyrus’ forehead, still unable to believe that he managed to find his soulmate again.

Amber and Jonah talked about their pasts, laughing over their past relationships, their friendship returning as easily as the tide does. And if Amber managed to help Jonah plan his wedding, it was to just be expected.

Buffy and Andi smiled, reminiscing on high school, sharing high school and college stories, best friend forever finding their way back to each other. Every so often, Cyrus would get up from his seat and make his way to them, Jonah also joining them, the Good Hair Crew reunited in totality, all shoving and laughing like they were the same kids. Amber and TJ would sit together at this time, both just sitting in silence as they basked in each other’s happiness. And in the last half an hour, they joined the other four, laughing and talking loudly, as if they were on a school trip on their way home.

Andi and Amber exchanged glances, and Amber smiled encouragingly all the while, so midway through conversation, Andi leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to Amber’s nose, causing a round of applause around the red-faced Amber Kippen.

The people who had walked out of the hotel mere hours ago, vowing to forget high school, were now here. Back as if they were in high school, back with each other. Maybe not all happy, or all fixed. But there.

And for that moment, it was enough that the best thing to happen to them was a flight getting delayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it. That's 'Delayed'. Thank you to everyone who has ever read and interacted with this fic. I've loved writing it. I'll be back soon if I can balance college!


End file.
